Dark Shadows (2012)

nTitle: Dark Shadows (2012)

nDirector: Tim Burton

nCast: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, EvanGreen, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Chloe Grace Moretz, BellanHeathcote

nReview:

nTim Burton’s always been one of my favorite directors. Thenguy is an artist through and through and it shows on his films. He always putsnsuch emphasis on the mood and look of a film that even if the film is crappyn(which has happened) you can rest assured you’ll at least see something thatnwill look interesting. But even I must admit that he’s turned into a pretty hitnand miss kind of director. Some of his films reach perfection like SleepynHollow (2004) and Ed Wood (1994); which to me are his brightest days behind thencamera, some are halfway decent like Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of FleetnStreet (2007), and some are downright disastrous abominations like Planet ofnthe Apes (2001) and Alice in Wonderland (2010). This is why whenever one of Burton’s films comes tonthe big screen; I always give them a chance. I could end up watching one of thengood ones. Now take in consideration that I was never a follower of the old DarknShadows television show, I only saw a couple of episodes sporadically. I’vennever seen any of the previous Dark Shadow films either so I’m judging this onensolely on its own merits. This review comes to you from a Tim Burton fan whose been dissapointed with his recent batch of films. So, the question remains, was Dark Shadows a good TimnBurton film?

nDark Shadows is all about Barnabas Collins, a young man innlove with a girl called Josette DuPres. At the same time, a powerful witchncalled Angelique Bouchard also has the hots for Barnabas, and she doesn’t takenkindly to rejection! So when Barnabas rejects her advances, she puts Josettenunder a spell and sends her to her death. As for Barnabas, he gets lockedninside of a coffin, buried alive and cursed to live the life of a vampire! Fastnforward 196 years later, and some people unwillingly unearth Barnabas who isnnow faced with the fact that he’s been buried for nearly 200 years. Barnabas isnnow headed towards a culture clash ofngargantuan proportions! He must quickly learn the ways of Lava Lamps and Rocknand Roll. He also discovers that the Collin’s family is no longer as prominentnand rich as it once was. So now, Barnabas’ has only one major concern in hisnmind: restoring the Collin’s family to it’s former glory. Will he achieve it?

nSo I went into Dark Shadows kind of skeptical, would it benone of the good ones, or would it be a sucky Burton flick? If you ask me, with his recent slatenof films, Tim Burton has been kind of selling his soul for money with filmsnlike Alice innWonderland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). Would Dark Shadows benone of these fluffy colorful get rich quick films? Or would this be one ofnthose Burtonnfilms that he puts extra care and attention to? My answer is yes, this is onenof the good ones! First off, I enjoyed the humor. Going into this I wasnexpecting Tim Burton’s version of The Addams Family. You know, a cooky, spooky,nfunny family, and that’s pretty much what I got, only thing is that this filmnis aimed more towards adults. It has sexually explicit jokes, and lots of darknhumor. My only gripe is that this film should have been ‘R’ rated. I mean, you’renhaving a female character giving Barnabas Collins oral sex for Christ’s sake! Makenit an ‘R’ rated film and you don’t have to shy way from the blood and gorenwhich brings me to the one and only thing I didn’t like about the film, innterms of the gore it felt restrained.

nTim Burton, working his magic with Johnny Depp

nLet’s take for example Sleepy Hollow (2004) which I considernto be Burton’snmasterpiece. It’s a fairytale, it’s dark, it’s gothic, it’s gory…and it was ratedn‘R’ which was the perfect thing to do. After all, this was a movie about a guynwho goes around decapitating people, there’s no way around it, Sleepy Hollow,nthough based on a fairy tale (which are usually aimed at kids) needed to benrated ‘R’ so you wouldn’t shy away from the gory nature of the story, from thenhorror. If you ask me, Dark Shadows should have been an ‘R’ as well. Aside fromnthe fact that it’s a film filled with a sexual situation or two, Barnabas is anvampire, a blood sucker. One scene that has Barnabas feeding on a group ofnyoung kids should have been a blood bath, instead, Burton cuts away and we don’t see thenpotentially gruesome scene, even after all the build up that goes on before it.nI guess this is the way films are made today. Everything has to be watered downnPG-13, just to play it safe. Just to make sure you’re film will make as manynmillions as it possibly could. Well, you know what, I got news for you Hollywood; Sleepy Hollownwas ‘R’ and it still made a huge amount of money. But whatever, filmmaking isnequal parts business and equal parts art, I’m sure here Burton was just following orders from studionexecs not to go over the top with the blood and gore. I’m just saying; thisnfilm needed a bit more gruesomeness. Still, this is a minor hiccup with thenfilm, what else worked about it?

nWell for starters as it is expected in a Burton film, the art direction was superb. Inloved the look of Collinwood, the mansion that the Collin’s family inhabits. It’snthis gigantic old mansion filled with room after cob web filled room, with darknhallways and secret passages. At times, with certain shots, I felt like I wasnwatching an old Hammer film, which is probably exactly what Burton was going for. Burton did a good jobnof mixing that look that horror films from the 70’s had with his gothic,nartistic sensibilities. The result is a film with a very different color palettenthen your usual Burtonnfilm, the film is colorful, but the colors are kind of muted, the way thencolors looked on the old Dark Shadows television shows. I would say that Burton was successful innreplicating the way Dan Curtis’s films and television shows looked. But thenfilm still has Burton’sn‘gothicness’ to it. And by the way, I want to applaud the fact that CGI wasnkept to a minimum on this one, finally, this film like a real film and not likena bunch of actors are standing behind a green screen. The CGI is used the waynit should be used, whenever it’s necessary. Mr. Burton, The Film Connoisseurnsalutes you for this!

nDark Shadows is a spooky flick filled with everything fromnghosts, to witches, to vampires and even werewolves, a horror fan should benhappy with this film. I also enjoyed the phantasmagorical images Burton came up with in thosenscenes dealing with the ghosts that inhabit Collinwood. This is a horror film,nbut it’s also a comedy, and the characters are funny in their own kooky ways,nwith that mordant Burtonnsense of humor which is present in many of his films. Dark Shadows marks Burton’s eightncollaboration with Johnny Depp, who is great as Barnabas, the character isnlikable even though he’s a villain which is a tough feat to achieve, itsnBarnabas that will keep you entertained through out, great character. Somencomplaint that this movie is slow, or boring, but I found it to be great fun,nthe dialog, the sarcasm, the witt, honestly at times it felt like The RoyalnTenenbaums (2001) of the horror world. You know, the story of a family tryingnto recover its former glory. And for those that complaint about this film beingn‘boring’ just remember that Dan Curtis’s films were never action packed films,nthey were always quiet, spooky tales about family. And this is what this filmncaptures well, it captures that fog filled cemetery, with the ghosts creepingnabout the hallways of the mansion, the dark corridors…the gigantic ominousnlooking house with a history. I’m guessing what some people might not like isnthat this version of Dark Shadows is a comedy, and the old show wasn’t, but ifnyou look at the campiness of those shows today, you might find comedy in it.

nIn terms of the comedy, I say the film succeeded. I wasnlaughing like a mad man with some of the jokes, especially those dealing withnBarnabas and his clash with the 70’s, great fish out of water stuff there. Thencomedy is a bit subtle, and it’s more related to the dialog than slapstick or physicalncomedy, so what these characters say and the way they behave is what shouldnkeep you giggling. The film reminded me of The Addams Family (1991) in manynways, let’s see, we have the eccentric family members, the gigantic and spookynmansion, the family treasure and the strangers who want to get their hands onnit, and finally, the honor of the family name. These are all elements that bothnfilms share, but Dark Shadows adds the element of sexual obsession to the mix,nthough Gomez and Morticia had a little of that going on as well. So both filmsnare similar, but Dark Shadows is decidedly more adult in a way. Final words is that this was a satisfying TimnBurton film, and I’m glad because I’ve been waiting for a good Burton film for a while, glad I didn’t givenup on the guy. He’s still got it in my book.

nRating: 4 out of 5