Dark Shadows

Plot: Local witch Angelique (Eva Green) is in love with Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), but he spurns her, so she turns him into a vampire, and traps him in a coffin until 1971, when he gets out. Angelique is immortal, so she is still around, and so are Barnabas' decedents, living in the same old house.  Barnabas quickly rebuilds the family fortune, but Angelique is still trying to win his heart -- or destroy him.  [imdb link]    [photos]

Review: Dark Shadows is a horror-themed comedy -- not a horror movie since it is not scary or suspenseful at all. It jokes about the horror genre and about waking up in the 1970's like Rip Van Winkle. 

The characters are comic personalities not real people, with the exception of 14-year old Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz) who channels the rolling-eyed reactions of the audience. We like Barnabas a lot, but we never felt sorry for him. He is just too weird. 

The music is mainly 1970's tracks -- some good, some not. Some of the camera shots are artistic.

The final scene has some outstanding special effects with animated objects, and a woman turning into glass. I liked the whole final sequence.

Bottom line is that Dark Shadows was fun-to-watch. So overlook the absent character development, and roll with it. 

Cast: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Chloe Grace Moretz, 

Directed by: Tim Burton

Rating:   2.5 stars: very entertaining. 

More: Looks like a sequel is coming. 

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