Dark Shadows

3/4

Starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Bella Heathcote, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jackie Earle Haley

Rated PG-13 for Comic Horror Violence, Sexual Content, Some Drug Use, Language and Smoking

Tim Burton has an affinity for the weird, the gothic and the bizarre.  And Johnny Depp.  His new movie, "Dark Shadows," is based on the cult TV series, and that's obvious.  There are too many characters, too many things going on, and a lot of potential.  But no one can claim that it isn't fun.

In 1752, the Collins family sets sail for the new world and strikes it rich in the fishing industry.  The town that forms around them is named after them and so is their large home.  Twenty years later, their young son Barnabas (Depp) has become a pillar of the community, but he's also a womanizer.  One of his flings is with Angelique Bouchard (Green), who happens to be a witch.  She loves him, but Barnabas is in love with the lovely Josette DuPres (Heathcote).  Pissed off, she bamboozles Josette into taking a dive off a cliff, curses the Collins family and turns Barnabas into a vampire before locking him in a coffin and burying him underground.  Of course, nothing stays buried forever, and Barnabas is released nearly 200 years later.  Collinsport has changed dramatically; it's run by Angelique and his descendants are poor outcasts.  Barnabas sets out to change that, but Angelique isn't going to stand by and let him walk all over her.

All things considered, the script manages to balance all the elements of the plot (and there is always a lot going on) fairly well.  Nearly everything is shortchanged to an extent, but there aren't any gaping holes or subplots that are obviously unfinished.  And it's just a shade under two hours to boot.

The cast appears to be having fun.  Johnny Depp is at his weird best as the vampire who has been transported to the 1970s.  The jokes about this are fairly obvious, but Depp makes them funny.  Barnabas is also deadly enough to make the "Twilight" vampires into the posers that they really are.  He does kill a lot of people, sometimes on-screen (although Burton keeps it at a PG-13 level).  Eva Green goes over-the-top as the vengeful witch Angelique, but there are times when she should have gone farther.  It should be noted that Barnabas and Angelique perform sexual acrobatics to a degree never seen on film (I'm guessing since this is played for laughs, contains no nudity, and is not intended to be the least bit erotic, the MPAA gave it a PG-13).

The other cast members are good as well.  Michelle Pfeiffer is a good sport as the supportive matriarch Elizabeth.  Bella Heathcote is lovely as Barnabas' love interests (yes, that's plural).  Burton's girlfriend Helena Bonham Carter tosses off a few good one-liners as the live-in drunken psychiatrist.  Chloe Grace Moretz is good as the sullen and sarcastic daughter, but she doesn't have much to do but make fun of Barnabas.  Johnny Lee Miller is completely wasted as Elizabeth's brother.  He has nothing to do but act awkward around Barnabas.  Fortunately he's gone by the second half.

Tim Burton accomplishes this delicate balancing act very well.  He goes overboard on the visuals and atmosphere, but that's to be expected.  That's okay, though, since those are Burton's strengths.  Still, because there's so much going on, it's difficult to actually get involved in any of it.

I do recommend it.  It's a lot of fun, and it's not in 3D. 

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