“Dark Shadows” was originally taken from the Dan Curtis, the producer who brought the story to life from a dream he had one night. The story features the life of Barnabas Collins, the son of Joshua and Naomi Collins, who set sail from Liverpool to America in 1752 to build a fishing empire. However, the young, rich handsome playboy that he is, Barnabas started fooling around with the wrong woman, the witch who turned Barnabas into a vampire.Two centuries later, Barnabas emerges from underground, while sucking the blood of innocent victims along the way.
The comedy continues as he copes up with the modern times, from music, diners and chevys instead of horses. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Well, not quite.
The story gets interesting as Barnabas tries to live life in modern times, from his release to his efforts to rebuild his empire. However, the story goes downhill when after he throws a lavish ball, the conflict of the story becomes evident and predictable, that all you want to do is to get the movie over and done with.
This movie should have been a serious yet enjoyable watch, as the 1960’s story gives us a glimpse of the serious and dark life of a lost vampire trying to live a normal life. However, the overly emphasized production, costumes and black and white make-up, the remake of this old soap opera was not fully captured in the film.
Overall, I thought the characters were a little empty.
Burton gives us a fun, dark comedy show for everyone to enjoy, and that’s about it. Johnny Depp gives out an amazing performance, as expected. But the story in itself wouldn’t hold if it wasn’t for the cast’s superb acting skills.
‘Dark Shadows’ is a fun, entertaining movie to see with your family. It’s like Disneyland’s Haunted House brought to life. But if you’re expecting a masterpiece by this power director-actor team, this is not the film to watch. Let’s see what they come up with next, hopefully not another vampire story!
Movie Trailer:
