Village Voice
"Wood" is still by far Depp and Burton's best collaboration, exhibiting the balance of tone between kitsch parody and zealous fantasy that's missing in Dark Shadows, less a resurrection than a clumsy desecration.
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Dark Shadows
Tim Burton directs this comedy adaptation of the cult gothic-horror TV series (which ran from 1966-1971). Starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Michelle Pfeiffer and Chloë Moretz.
In the 16th Century, the English-born Barnabas Collins (Depp) is living a wealthy and powerful life as an American playboy in the town of Collinsport, Maine. But after breaking the heart of a secretive witch, Barnabas is turned into a vampire and buried alive for 200 years. Upon his release in the year 1972, he finds his once-thriving establishment to be in tatters, with his descendants equally as broken.
This will mark the eighth pairing of Burton and Depp, the seventh pairing of Burton and Bonham Carter (Burton's wife), and the fourth pairing of Depp and Bonham Carter in a Burton film.
Less2012Rating: M, contains horror, violence, offensive language and drug use113 minsUSA
ComedyHorrorMystery
- Director:
- Tim Burton ('Edward Scissorhands', 'Ed Wood', 'Big Fish', 'Alice in Wonderland')
- Writer:
- Seth Grahame-Smith
- Cast:
- Johnny DeppEva GreenMichelle PfeifferJonny Lee MillerChloë Grace MoretzGulliver McGrathHelena Bonham CarterJackie Earle HaleyChristopher LeeAlice Cooper
Dark Shadows | Reviews
35%261 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
All reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Variety
This bizarre but weirdly bloodless retro-camp exercise is neither funny nor eerie enough to seduce the uninitiated, and will court bemused reactions at best from the series' still-estimable fan following.
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Total Film
One of the strangest mainstream releases of recent times, Dark Shadows' demented gothic melodrama/fish-out-of-water comedy/creature feature feels like you've slipped into a Burton fever-dream.
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Time Out
Burton, as usual, is great on atmosphere and comic timing (these are his weirdest moments since Ed Wood), but less so at reining in an overcomplicated plot and dimly lit action scenes.
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Hollywood Reporter
Dark Shadows sinks its teeth half-way into its potentially meaty material but hesitates to go all the way.
Full reviewHollywood Reporter
Dark Shadows sinks its teeth half-way into its potentially meaty material but hesitates to go all the way.
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Empire Magazine
A step up from Alice In Wonderland and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, but not tip-top Tim.
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Collider
There’s nothing particularly infuriating about the film, because fury would require passion. Dark Shadows wants to be frightful, but it’s just frightfully dull.
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A.V. Club
Any proper adaptation of Dark Shadows, even one that acknowledges and celebrates its camp silliness as much as Burton's does, has to immerse itself in soap opera, too, and it's here that the director's lack of conviction becomes apparent.
Full reviewDark Shadows | Trailers
Dark Shadows | Release Details
Dark Shadows is available to stream in New Zealand now on Google Play and Prime Video and Apple TV and Academy On Demand.