Dark Shadows

What We Screw Up in the Shadows... Despite the vampire character, this Gothic pride, which suits death so well, is eager to see itself in the mirror. But behind it, there’s nothing left. This has been happening since Charlie’s factory for chubby kids, and some don’t want to admit it. With a bit more of a pointy bust, Eva Green was like Vampira in Ed Wood. It’s no wonder that the firefighters went to Tim Burton’s calves before they went to the Collins estate. (10/06/2024)

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)

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)

Irresistible costumes, makeup and vivid colors create a cute floral seventies atmosphere (with great opening credits). There are a few cute references and allusions, but you would expect more from Johnny Depp’s ancient vampire’s interactions with the modern world. Dark Shadows is an eccentric film that attempts to pay homage to all kinds of things Burton likes, but it’s surprisingly not very funny and the characters are just iconic figures in a story that won’t absorb you. It’s a stylish farce that looks good but has no heart or emotion. Tim Burton seems to be drying up, which is a shame. It reminded me of Death Becomes Her. (07/05/2012)

Tim Burton's dumbest and most boring film, and I say that as a great admirer of his. So, let's summarize. Typical Burton goofy humour? There’s none of it. Burton's famous bizarre visual styling? Non-existent. The always so distinctive music of Elfman? I didn’t catch it. Immersive plot? Plot? What plot? So what the hell, at least some minor tidbits, like Barnabas's confrontation with modern times? Criminally underused. I'll let Barnabas's fangs bite me if I'm making this up, but these were my two longest hours at the movies in years. (14/05/2012)