Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows

2012Movie113 minEnglish

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.

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Insights

IMDb6.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes36%
Metacritic53/100
Google Users60%
Director: Tim BurtonGenres: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror

Plot Summary

In 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, along with their young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to establish a life in America. Decades later, Barnabas is a wealthy young man living the high life in Collinsport, Maine. But his dalliances with the witch Angelique Brounette lead to him being cursed and entombed alive, only to be resurrected two centuries later in 1972. A now-undead Barnabas must navigate the strange and evolved world while trying to protect his dysfunctional descendants from the sinister witch who cursed him.

Critical Reception

Tim Burton's 'Dark Shadows' was met with a largely negative reception from critics and audiences alike. While some appreciated the film's visual style and eccentric performances, many found the story unfocused, the humor to be hit-or-miss, and the overall tone inconsistent. It was considered a significant departure from the original television series and failed to connect with a broad audience.

What Reviewers Say

  • Visually striking with a unique gothic aesthetic that is characteristic of Tim Burton's work.
  • The performances, particularly Johnny Depp's portrayal of Barnabas Collins, were noted as a highlight, though often seen as eccentric.
  • Many critics found the plot to be convoluted and the blend of horror, comedy, and supernatural elements to be uneven and ultimately unsuccessful.

Google audience: Google users expressed mixed feelings, with many appreciating the film's quirky humor and visual flair. However, a significant portion found the plot nonsensical and the movie to be overly strange, with some finding it too slow-paced.

Fun Fact

Johnny Depp had been developing a 'Dark Shadows' film adaptation since 1995, originally envisioning it as a more faithful gothic horror take with a different director before Tim Burton eventually joined the project.

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My Review

TMDB Reviews

5 reviews
Kamurai

Kamurai

Really good watch, would watch again, and can recommend. Don't get me wrong, this is probably a stranger than good watch, but from concept to story to characters, it has a lot of good to it. Some of the choices are a bit odd, but they d...
Gimly

Gimly

I'm sorry but I am incapable of buying 50-year-old Johnny Depp as the immortal, youthful, irresistible heir to his father's New World empire. Maybe in a better movie, I would have been too distracted to be bothered by it, but this is Tim Bu...
Wuchak

Wuchak

***I don’t get all the hate*** On coastal Maine, a Vampire named Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) is released in 1972 after almost 200 years in captivity and reacquaints himself with his family’s chateau & the nearby fishing village. Miche...
Per Gunnar Jonsson

Per Gunnar Jonss...

I generally like Tim Burton as well as Johnny Depp. This movie was no exception. It is a dark (of course with Tim Burton) comedy with some hint of action/thriller in it. I would not really characterize it as a horror movie even though ther...
darrenhamilton14

darrenhamilton14

Let's leave it all at the door here. I loved Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and Batman. Hated Batman Returns, Alice in Wonderland, and Willy Wonka. Could care less about Nightmare before Christmas and Sweeney Todd. Okay, so I'm not a Tim...