Quote:
Originally Posted by phantomstranger
"Dark Shadows" (2012)
-Johnny Depp
Plot: After almost 200 years of sleep, vampire Barnabas Collins reawakens in 1972 to battle the evil (but gorgeous) witch who cursed him, help his descendents rebuild their fortune, find his lost love and generally deal with the strange new world he now finds himself in.
Phantom's Review: First, let me say I love the original "Dark Shadows", been a fan for decades, so when I first heard that Depp and Burton were going to do a film version I got very excited I'm a fan of them and I like their style, but then I saw the first few previews and I saw a comedy not a Gothic Horror movie, but I went and saw it anyway and much to my surprise I loved it. The film does have some comedic moments, but they seem natural since they mostly deal with Barnabas trying to figure out his new world. There are some really decent BOO! scenes, great FX and the film really tries to keep the atmosphere and spirit (no pun intended) of the original show. The whole cast does a great job with their characters. My only main complaint is a late film reveal about the Carolyn character that really goes nowhere and the original "Dark Shadows" music is only barely hinted at in the soundtrack. Outside of that really enjoyed this film.
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I would like to stress something that I seem to have accidentally omitted from my original review. While I thoroughly enjoyed this film, I want to say that "Dark Shadows" 2012 is definitely NOT a carbon copy of the original series or movie. This is a different take on the familiar themes. Depp and Burton have taken the essence, the spirit (theirs that pun again) of the original show and put their own spin on it. Some characters are very different from the originals, most notably "Victoria Winters" and "Maggie Evans" and some characters remain true to form. This is a remake after all, and most remakes do some things differently. If you are a die hard purist of the original, you might not like this new take,but if your like me and can enjoy this film on it's own merits I think you'll enjoy it.
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