TME Reviews: Dark Shadows
Release Date: May 11, 2012 (2D theaters and IMAX)
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Tim Burton
Screenwriter: Seth Grahame-Smith
Starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Eva Green, Chlo Grace Moretz, Bella Heathcote, Gully McGrath
 Genre: Gothic Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for comic horror violence, sexual content, some drug use, language and smoking)
 Official Website 
arkShadowsthemovie.com
Review: Matinee
The story of Dark Shadows is set around Barnabas Collins; a rich powerful old playboy. One day he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard, who is a real witch. Angelique curses him with eternal life by turning him into a vampire and then burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very different world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have not fared any better; each member harboring their own dark secrets.
The whole feel of this story compared to the original TV series which the movie is based off of is different. The TV show was darker than what is portrayed on the screen. I’m guessing the reason for this is they did not want an R rating. This leads to other changes like Victoria and other characters stories being changed. I don’t want to give too much away but the Collin’s daughter was older and not 15. The fate of David’s mother was different. These rewritten script changes seem small, but they really are the big factors for me that just kind of ruined the movie.
Not all is lost though as there are a few things that really save this movie.  Barnabas Collins is played by Johnny Depp (who in my opinion plays an amazing period vampire) who plays his spin on a Count Dracula type. I think he plays a better Barnabas then Jonathan Frid, the original Barnabas from the 1967 TV show. They make slight references to the to the old TV show; from the set dressings to Barnaba’s wolf cane that looks like the one used in the original.
In the end Dark Shadows gets a matinée pricing. It’s for people who don’t know too much about the original show and enjoy the musings of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. But if you are a fan of the original you will be sorely disappointed.
About the Author
