Dark Shadows

Congratulations to Tim Burton for once again managing to make a bad film. And this time he tried really hard. Not a bit of darkness. Under the surface, another annoying wannabe stylish crap with a heavily made-up Johnny in the main role and an elite cast that has nothing to do under Burton’s direction. Awful, the only good thing is the soundtrack. (01/09/2012)

Burton fizzled out and there was nothing left but a bunch of make up, pretty sets and once emotive themes. More than anything else, the character of Barnabas is an unintentional authorial self-reflection by a filmmaker who, since Sweeney Todd, has been copying himself and chasing the ghosts of the past. (10/05/2012)

It's such a shame that Dark Shadows came along just as most viewers were running out of patience with Tim Burton. I actually like the master of strangeness, and the story of Barnabas Collins seems better to me than the quickly fading Alice in Wonderland or the even more Burton-esque Sweeney Todd. There are a lot of oddities happening at Collinwood that amaze me with the director's imagination, or t which I can hardly resist laughing. Johnny Depp works perfectly as an atypical protagonist without batting an eye, and the rest of the film is stolen by the pubescent princess Chloë Grace Moretz even in a smaller space. Riding the waves of Danny Elfman's soundtrack, I made it to 90% with a slight reserve for distance and further projection, which a few years later confirmed that the rarely appreciated spectacle got stuck on the turbulent cliffs of the time. (30/05/2012)

Dark Shadows, the 2012 version, is an absolute delight. The natural evolution of the Burton/Elfman/Depp collaboration rides on the wave of popular fandom that began in 1966 and continued as a daytime soap for five years, followed by two films. There were several failed comebacks over the next few years, with only the 1991 revival series actually succeeding. And now Barnabas is back and can once again connect a new generation of viewers to his story. The short prologue from the second half of the 18th century is wonderfully straightforward and decadent, and I love the setting and atmosphere. But Barnabas back in 1972 is better than ever. There’s a great clash with the post-flower generation, perfect clashes with Angelique (both hateful and loving) who has so far gone from witch to respected citizen of the city in a few generations. Johnny Depp makes the most of his vampire, Eva Green is the ultimate hedonist in every way, Michelle Pfeiffer is still very sexy, combining the best of her Selina Kyle and Lamia, and Helena Bonham Carter has the chops to showcase the vampire again next time. So far, it's been a perfect study of the titular vampire and the Bathory Syndrome. Among the others, we have Christopher Lee in a tiny role and Alice Cooper fans will definitely be pleased. The cameos of the original actors from the series also hold a special place. The 1970s are exactly as they deserve to be recorded here. The combination of gothic comedy is a genre I've been missing and it came just in time. (13/05/2012)

What is it that you gentlemen experts don't like about it again? Every time I go to his movie, it's clear to me that it will be an unorthodox story... and that's exactly what it is again. Sometimes he makes a movie just to make some money, like for example Planet of the Apes. And sometimes he simply and easily fulfills one of the many dreams that continue to accumulate in his portfolio. And so what if the movie cost 150 million dollars, when it was backed by the producer Johnny Depp, who still feels the need to deal with money. I really liked Dark Shadows. They had exactly what I wished for... and so what if it was all terribly kitschy. The characters were flawless, the actors played them absolutely fantastically, I also incredibly enjoyed the music, the atmosphere was again wonderfully magical and the story was exactly what I would expect from Tim. Even in terms of visualization, I have no objections. I really don't see any significant problems. I also like that Tim invites either well-known but unique faces or unfamiliar and original actors to his movies. And he didn't disappoint here either. Everything about this movie fit me wonderfully. And even though it wasn't particularly original and I could easily skip some scenes, I enjoyed it. And if nothing else, Eva Green must have brought immense joy to every guy. (16/05/2012)