Every family has its demons.
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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Character
Unpretentious, comic, effortless and nostalgic.
- unpretentiousprestige
- gravecomic
- effortlessdemanding
- contemporarynostalgic
- cooloverwhelming
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“Is the nostalgia doing the heavy lifting?”
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“Is Johnny Depp the best thing in Dark Shadows?”
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“Is it funnier than it is smart?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- Wuchakon TMDB · Nov 20187/10
***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. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the Collins matriarch, Helena Bonham Carter the in-house shrink, Eva Green a conniving witch, Bella Heathcote the reincarnation of Barnabas’ long-lost love and Chloë Grace Moretz a 15 year-old punk. Directed by Tim Burton, “Dark Shadows” (2012) isn’t far removed in tone from his “Sleepy Hollow” (1999), which also featured Depp as the protagonist, although I suppose “Shadows” throws in a little more humor. I’ve never seen the TV soap opera Dark Shadows or the subsequent two movies, so I can’t compare this movie to them. All I know is that I liked this rendition quite a bit, just as I liked the inexplicably reviled “The Lone Ranger” (2013). The October/November ambiance (i.e. Halloween-season) is to die for and Depp as Barnabas Collins maintains your interest throughout. He’s obviously a fish-out-of-water in 1972, but acclimates pretty quickly. Eva Green is perfect as the ee-vil witch and Carter is enjoyable as usual. I don’t get th
Read the whole review on TMDB - Dark Jedion TMDB · Feb 20187/10
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 there are a vampire as well as a witch and a werewolf in it. Of course there is the romance stuff but I personally feel that is really more of a background or justification to the plot than anything else. This is not a magnificent movie but it’s a good movie. I have never seen the original series so I am not biased by that. It seems that many people that considers this to be a bad movie refers to the original show. I have read several of the critical reviews and I do not agree with most of them. I found this movie to be a nice, moderately paced, comedy in a vampire/gothic setting. The mood and the wackiness were fairly typical for a Tim Burton production. Johnny Depp was pretty much as can be expected which is a good thing if you like Johnny Depp. The return of Barnabas to his, now rather dysfunctional, family is rather funny. The ease with how Barnabas was duped and trapped again in the second half of the film was a bit annoying but then, he had been
Read the whole review on TMDB - darrenhamilton14on TMDB · May 20128.5/10
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 Burton hater. I'm not a huge Tim Burton fan. I think in this situation, I'm as close as you get to the average movie goer. No agenda, no attachments. That being said, this film is terrible. Burton spent so much effort and time worrying about making this film Gothic and off pace, stuffing his favorite actors into the film even though half of their parts were pointless, he forgot he was making a film. It's a simple and fun idea but it feels like ego and "showiness" kept them from making the plot even make sense. We get it Tim! You are weird! Don't ruin a good performance by Depp and a fun idea for a film because you have to live up to your own Gothic standards. Grow up. So much talent is wasted on these films having the same look, cast, and feel to them. Take that talent and make something fresh! Stretch yourself just a tad out of that Hot Topic comfort zone will ya? This movie was long, boring, and ruined. All of the funny scenes were in the trai
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Cast
- 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
Crew
- Tim BurtonDirector
- Seth Grahame-SmithScreenplay
- Bruno DelbonnelDirector of Photography
- Danny ElfmanOriginal Music Composer
- Chris LebenzonEditor
- Johnny DeppProducer
- David KennedyProducer
- Graham KingProducer
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Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 202479% alikeBoth nostalgic, comic, unpretentious.
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Goin' South 197876% alikeBoth comic, unpretentious, effortless.
Cat Ballou 196575% alikeBoth unpretentious, comic, effortless.
Little Shop of Horrors 198674% alikeBoth comic, unpretentious, effortless.
Riddle of Fire 202473% alikeClose across the board.
The Addams Family 199173% alikeBoth comic, effortless, nostalgic.
Enchanted 200773% alikeBoth effortless.
Game · Both unpretentious, comic.
Undead Murder Farce 202373% alikeTelevision · Both unpretentious.
Often watched with
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