Review of Dark Shadows (2012) by Mailordermonstr — 01 Oct 2012

What happened to TIm Burton? He used to be such a great film maker. My guess is that he had a spurt of creativity in his teen years and was happy to muck around in the same stomping grounds for the rest of his life.

Hollywood and the general public felt differently though. After rehashing Beetlejuice and Nightmare before Christmas to make Corpse's Bride, someone probably told Mr. Burton that people were getting tired of the same thing in slightly different packaging.

It's at this point that Mr. Burton fell into the same trap that currently plagues Hollywood. The remake. Planet of the Apes was drab and had none of the Tim Burton Magic. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was just dreadful.

And now we have Dark Shadows. Tim Burton doesn't seem to be able to point this piece in any direction. There's just far too much ground covered in too short a time. I had no feelings throughout the entire movie for Victoria, who's supposed to be the main love interest.

They could've pulled a Sixth Sense, she's been dead the whole time, and no one would've blinked or cared. And why must all Tim Burton movies star Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter? They're both good actors, but please get some other people in there.

Did they sign some sort of life long contract? If they had removed the whole vampire being confused by modern day shtick, they may have been able to tell a decent story. Or go the other direction and go for pure comedy.

This movie is muddled and confused. If you're aching for some Burton/Depp magic, go watch Edward Scissorhands for the hundredth time.