Dark Shadows
Rent & Buy
Vampire Barnabas Collins is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate and family have fallen into ruin.
What critics thought
Burton and Depp's gothic soap-opera revival splits critics sharply: fans of the film credit its lush visuals and Depp's fish-out-of-water comedy in the 1970s setting, while detractors argue the script never commits to being a horror film, a comedy, or a drama, and that the Burton-Depp partnership has simply run out of steam. The middle ground — and it's crowded — is that the film starts promisingly and looks gorgeous but loses energy and coherence before it's done.
“It's as if Burton directed at arm's length, unwilling to find juice in the story.”
Roger Ebert·rogerebert.com, Chicago Sun-Times
“the film "isn't among Mr. Burton's most richly realized works, but it's very enjoyable, visually sumptuous and, despite its lugubrious source material and a sporadic tremor of violence, surprisingly effervescent”
Manohla Dargis·The New York Times
“Burton's mash-up of post-'60s kitsch and modern-day knowingness strikes a chord that is less self-aware than fatally self-satisfied. Dark Shadows doesn't know where it wants to dwell: in the eerie, subversive penumbra suggested by its title or in playful, go-for-broke camp.”
Ann Hornaday·The Washington Post
“the Gothy, jokey 'darkness' of Burton's style is now beginning to look very familiar; he has built his brand to perfection in the film marketplace, and it is smarter and more distinctive than a lot of what is on offer at the multiplex, but there are no surprises. There are shadows, but they conceal nothing.”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“After a fierce and funny start, Dark Shadows simply spins its wheels”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
Parents guide
- Violence
- moderate
- Sex
- mild
- Profanity
- mild
- Substances
- mild
- Intensity
- moderate
Genres
Comedy, Fantasy
Cast & Crew
Tim BurtonDirector
Johnny DeppBarnabas Collins
Michelle PfeifferElizabeth Collins Stoddard
Eva GreenAngelique Bouchard
Helena Bonham CarterDr. Julia Hoffman
Chloë Grace MoretzCarolyn Stoddard
Bella HeathcoteVictoria Winters / Josette DuPres
Gulliver McGrathDavid Collins
Jackie Earle HaleyWillie Loomis
Jonny Lee MillerRoger Collins
Ray ShirleyMrs. Johnson
Christopher LeeClarney
Alice CooperSelf
Danny ElfmanComposer
Seth Grahame-SmithWriter
John AugustWriter
Bruno DelbonnelCinematographyDark Shadows
Vampire Barnabas Collins is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate and family have fallen into ruin.
What critics thought
Burton and Depp's gothic soap-opera revival splits critics sharply: fans of the film credit its lush visuals and Depp's fish-out-of-water comedy in the 1970s setting, while detractors argue the script never commits to being a horror film, a comedy, or a drama, and that the Burton-Depp partnership has simply run out of steam. The middle ground — and it's crowded — is that the film starts promisingly and looks gorgeous but loses energy and coherence before it's done.
“It's as if Burton directed at arm's length, unwilling to find juice in the story.”
Roger Ebert·rogerebert.com, Chicago Sun-Times
“the film "isn't among Mr. Burton's most richly realized works, but it's very enjoyable, visually sumptuous and, despite its lugubrious source material and a sporadic tremor of violence, surprisingly effervescent”
Manohla Dargis·The New York Times
“Burton's mash-up of post-'60s kitsch and modern-day knowingness strikes a chord that is less self-aware than fatally self-satisfied. Dark Shadows doesn't know where it wants to dwell: in the eerie, subversive penumbra suggested by its title or in playful, go-for-broke camp.”
Ann Hornaday·The Washington Post
“the Gothy, jokey 'darkness' of Burton's style is now beginning to look very familiar; he has built his brand to perfection in the film marketplace, and it is smarter and more distinctive than a lot of what is on offer at the multiplex, but there are no surprises. There are shadows, but they conceal nothing.”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“After a fierce and funny start, Dark Shadows simply spins its wheels”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
Parents guide
- Violence
- moderate
- Sex
- mild
- Profanity
- mild
- Substances
- mild
- Intensity
- moderate
Genres
Comedy, Fantasy
Cast & Crew
Tim BurtonDirectorJohnny DeppBarnabas CollinsMichelle PfeifferElizabeth Collins StoddardEva GreenAngelique BouchardHelena Bonham CarterDr. Julia HoffmanChloë Grace MoretzCarolyn StoddardBella HeathcoteVictoria Winters / Josette DuPresGulliver McGrathDavid CollinsJackie Earle HaleyWillie LoomisJonny Lee MillerRoger CollinsRay ShirleyMrs. JohnsonChristopher LeeClarneyAlice CooperSelfDanny ElfmanComposerSeth Grahame-SmithWriterJohn AugustWriterBruno DelbonnelCinematographyRent & Buy