31 replies to this topic

[TWoP Dietrich]

Nnnnnope.

[2MuchTV]

Eh, it was all right. Not terrible, not the comedy they were selling it as (thankfully), but not particularly good.

I liked the opening sequences, with Victoria arriving and the introductions of the characters at Collinwood (liked that they managed to start with a "My name is Victoria Winters..." and how they managed to make the Victoria character Maggie Evans as well so they were both the Josette figure in a way). Was relieved that they didn't push the comedic elements too hard to the point of mocking the source material.

But on the whole...I just didn't care. None of the characters were particularly interesting or likeable. Things just seemed to be happening for little to no reason. (Roger leaving? Okay, so what? It might have meant something if he'd actually been given a character.) The ball was really boring--with all the pointless shots of the main characters grooving to Alice Cooper. And the final plot twists were a big huh--Carolyn's a werewolf? Angelique made David a "bastard" by sending his mother to swim with the tunas? Did she mean orphan (which she called him later), because my first thought was that David's mother somehow had sex with fish (the only way I could figure David would be a bastard as a result) and HIS supernatural twist was going to be that he was half fish. Or something. What the what? The whole climax was actually pretty terrible--overlong, excessive and boring. And Barnabas and Victoria/Josette at the end? Just. Didn't. Care. In fact, Josette's ghost was kind of an asshole. So I guess the "help" she wanted Victoria/Maggie to give her was to jump off Widow's Hill to force Barnabas to turn her and Josette could take over her body? She haunted the poor girl her whole life and basically ruined her life just so Josette could have her body and be with Barnabas? Wow. What a jerk.

So yeah. Meh. M-e-h. Meh.

Edited by 2MuchTV, May 12, 2012 @ 6:46 AM.

[BDArizona]

Loved it. I liked the comedic flourishes, since I always watched DS for the campiness of it all. I felt the small changes they made to the plot and characters were good for the story. Everyone in the theater was cracking up. My husband and I went to The Avengers, then saw this immediately after. The Avengers was supposed to be fantastic according to all the hype, and my husband is a huge fan of Marvel comic books. We left DS and he turned to me and said, "Dark Shadows was better than The Avengers."

I thought making it apparent to Liz that Barnabas was a vampire was a very smart move, because it didn't make everyone look quite stupid. The Vicki/Maggie combo was a good move; it gave a nod to the source material without adding in confusion. I also liked that they gave us some backstory for Vicki/Maggie, since Dan Curtis dropped Vicki's background in favor of More Barnabas in the original series. I thought making Julia a lush was a good way to show her less-than-stellar character in a short period of time. (I always thought the ethical code followed by Julia and Barnabas was...wanting.) I thought Roger-as-thief was a good way to show what an asshole he was without going into the car wreck story. I liked that they mentioned several times exactly what Barnabas' motivation was, because in the series he did some hideous things that were portrayed as "heroic" because they were for his family. I thought Elfman incorporating small pieces of the music from the old series in his score was fantastic. The twist about Carolyn was cool, since it brought the werewolf thing in. In short, I thought they took the best parts of the original, simplified somewhat, expanded and explained where needed, and created enough new twists to keep someone who knew the story by heart interested.

My husband mentioned how realistic Collinsport looked for the time period. It looked like the small town I grew up in. They did a great job there. I also liked the way they made Collinwood look. It did look like the home of a family on the downside, a family living under a curse. They were able to bring the Barnabas-refurbishes-the-family-home storyline in without resorting to having the Old House.

Loved seeing Jonathan Frid enter the Collins family ball with Lara Parker and Katherine Leigh Scott on his arms.

My only complaint? I thought the final confrontation between the Collins family and Angelique was too action-oriented. I would have preferred that it was about magic. I didn't like the physical fight and guns. Not Dark Shadows there. I did like her being a porcelain doll and handing Barnabas her heart, though. Angelique had a twisted view of what love was, and that showed that she really did think she loved Barnabas.

I expect a lot of fans of the original series to hate this one, because it does take the piss out a little bit. And that's fine. Taking a melodramatic soap opera too seriously isn't my thing. However, there were a lot of older women there who were fans of the original, and they all seemed to be really into it.

All in all, I think Depp and Burton can be proud of this one. I'm a huge fan of the original series, and I'd see this one again and buy the DVD.

Edited by BDArizona, May 13, 2012 @ 8:34 PM.

[Knots Landing]

I thought it was a surprisingly good film and VERY faithful to the original, but the trailers really let it down. Whoever decided the best way to market it was as a comedy has ruined what could've been a pretty big franchise. I notice once the trailer came out people seemed less excited about it and I think thats why box office results will be lower. In the end we'll see how well it does, but I don't think we'll get a sequel out of it. I was reading an article that they were looking for another franchise, to perform similar to Sherlock Holmes, but unless this holds well in coming weeks I don't see that happening. Of course, it would work best as a primetime series.

They did a good job with the family unit and the most annoying thing about the film was Angelique. I LOVED Carolyn and Elizabeth. Both actors were perfectly cast and written. I haven't seen Michelle Phiffer be this delightful in a long, long time. She came off very strong and like the perfect matriarch. I also loved the little boy who played David.

The comedy element was there, but beyond what was shown in the trailer, it was subtle enough and the tone was pretty dark which I liked. I hope word of mouth helps the film.

[Princess Aldrea]

I thought this movie was okay. The plot was terrible but the characters were fun enough.

I was confused about whether the end was supposed to be happy or not. Victoria became Josette and a vampire and could be happy with Barnabus. He certainly looked happy. On the other hand, they'd been dating for all of five minutes and he just liked that she looked like Josette anyway. Bella much? Victoria seemed to cease to exist and Josette took over so that was bad for her. The ending suicide just made me deeply uncomfortable. Barnabus saved her but it didn't even freaking matter because she chose to die anyway.

And no goodbye between Barnabus and the Collins family?

Plus there were too many plot holes.

Even if Barnabus did admit to killing all of those people (and I'm sure they could argue about that recording in court since Angelique would only show five seconds of it because right before and right after were too incriminating) then that wouldn't lead to the arrest of everyone else in his family because they didn't actually commit a crime and there was no reason to think that they knew about it. And when they were talking about arresting "all of them"? In what universwe would David and Carolyn be arrested even if Elizabeth knew? And why did it take weeks for Julia to become a vampire under water when she had fangs before Barnabus even drained her? And don't the Collins have some basic insurance? And why isn't Angelique a suspect in the Collins family fire? And how does Angelique keep passing herself off as identical members of a family through the generations? Angelique's magic may come into play here but not for any of the other ones. And when, exactly, did Barnabus think he could have loved Angelique if she hadn't gone all craazy? When he was telling her it was just sex or when he was frolicking with Josette? And if Carolyn was bitten in her crib before she was old enough to know to hide the fact she was a werewolf then how come no one noticed? And if she was a werewolf then why could she be human in the moonlight before and after the battle? Was she just like a Twilight shape-shifter? And if she could control it then how did she first discover this? And why was it only this generation that Angelique decided to mess with? And how does killing David's mom make him a bastard? And why did he have to keep killing people to feed instead of just drinking a little and then hypnotizing them to forget it? The fact he kept killing people instead made him seem like a terrible person. And if he was satisfied with those eleven construction workers then why did he have to kill the hippies shortly afterwards? He was clearly fine not feeding for 196 years. And why didn't Angelique make sure that nobody would dig up Barnabus?

[2MuchTV]

I was confused about whether the end was supposed to be happy or not. Victoria became Josette and a vampire and could be happy with Barnabus. He certainly looked happy. On the other hand, they'd been dating for all of five minutes and he just liked that she looked like Josette anyway. Bella much? Victoria seemed to cease to exist and Josette took over so that was bad for her. The ending suicide just made me deeply uncomfortable. Barnabus saved her but it didn't even freaking matter because she chose to die anyway.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be happy--if only because Barnabas got what he wanted--but the more I think about it, the more I think it was just depressing. The film completely failed to make Victoria's love so all-consuming and powerful that she couldn't live with the idea of being without him. So the idea that she would think, "Well, rather than take what good years I can get with you before the aging issue becomes unbearable, or instead of trying to find some way to make it work, I have to kill myself RIGHT NOW" was just stupid.

Actually I had kind of assumed in the moment that she jumped to specifically force him to come after her and turn her. But in that case I doubt she knew Josette was going to take over her body and she wouldn't exist anymore. Which is why the main thing I got from the movie was that Josette was a pretty terrible person/ghost/whatever. All the hell Victoria/Maggie went through because of her, all the manipulations Josette employed to get Victoria where she wanted--all so Victoria could wind up dead, killing herself over a man who didn't really love HER but who she reminded him of, while Josette got to be with her man. Ugh. It might have been different if it had been clearer Victoria was Josette's reincarnation, but since Josette's spirit was a completely separate thing and not in Victoria, it seemed clear that wasn't the case.

And why didn't Angelique make sure that nobody would dig up Barnabus?

The fact that she didn't have him reburied and just left him sitting in a coffin in the family crypt was a real headscratcher. Obviously it was necessary for plot purposes so David could get him back out, but it made no sense for her character.

Also I'm still wondering about the bit where Carolyn sang the line about "Where's Daddy? When's he coming home?" to Elizabeth. Obviously they were hinting at a deeper meaning between the characters, especially since the whereabouts of Elizabeth's husband/Carolyn's father were never mentioned. I was waiting for a twist, or at least an explanation, later on. Come to think of it, it would have made more sense if he'd just been a werewolf and that's why Carolyn was one, instead of the "Angelique sent a werewolf to bite her in her crib" nonsense.

Edited by 2MuchTV, May 13, 2012 @ 2:16 PM.

[BDArizona]

I thought it was a surprisingly good film and VERY faithful to the original, but the trailers really let it down. Whoever decided the best way to market it was as a comedy has ruined what could've been a pretty big franchise.

I do think the trailers let it down a bit, but I don't really think they had as much to do with the backlash. I think Helena Bonham Carter's comments about the old soap had more to do with that. Now, I don't think HBC was wrong. However, she did turn off a lot of diehards who get upset by people who mention the shortcomings of the original series. I also think the general Internet hatred of Burton had a lot to do with the pre-release negativity. There have been people saying negative things about the movie before a single scene was shot; Tim Burton's critics were hot and heavy hating on the entire concept from the announcement of his involvement.

I actually think he did a good job holding back most of his major signature pieces. There were the dark circles around the eyes of Victoria, but the bright eye shadow of all the women was the perfect marriage of the time and Burton's style.

In general, I'm not sure that people who don't spend time chasing TV and movie information on the Internet will really care about any of that stuff, though. I have to wonder if it will really affect the numbers. The trailers might, but all the Internet hatred probably won't. I do think they were setting up for a possible sequel, though. The ending--both with Julia and Barnabas--left it open. We'll just have to see how it goes.

I was confused about whether the end was supposed to be happy or not. Victoria became Josette and a vampire and could be happy with Barnabus. He certainly looked happy. On the other hand, they'd been dating for all of five minutes and he just liked that she looked like Josette anyway. Bella much? Victoria seemed to cease to exist and Josette took over so that was bad for her. The ending suicide just made me deeply uncomfortable. Barnabus saved her but it didn't even freaking matter because she chose to die anyway.

I don't think it was happy, but I think it was faithful to the source. I never thought any of Barnabas' "love" for any woman (especially Maggie) was real. It was a sick thing based upon an obsession with another woman. He was a real creep, to be honest.

And how does Angelique keep passing herself off as identical members of a family through the generations?

Unrealistic? Absolutely. Faithful to the source? Again, absolutely. I actually took that as a nod to the series, which I appreciated a great deal. I don't think any of it was to be taken seriously, so that doesn't bother me. If I could enjoy that silliness in the source material, I could equally enjoy it here.

The fact that she didn't have him reburied and just left him sitting in a coffin in the family crypt was a real headscratcher. Obviously it was necessary for plot purposes so David could get him back out, but it made no sense for her character.

I thought it was just to bring the family crypt into the story. Still, even if she had reburied him, David could have followed them to the location.

Also I'm still wondering about the bit where Carolyn sang the line about "Where's Daddy? When's he coming home?" to Elizabeth. Obviously they were hinting at a deeper meaning between the characters, especially since the whereabouts of Elizabeth's husband/Carolyn's father were never mentioned. I was waiting for a twist, or at least an explanation, later on.

I'm wondering if they weren't planning to address that in a possible sequel. Paul Stoddard does show up in old DS, but he was never really important in the early part of the series except as an excuse for Liz to never leave the estate. Maybe that's what it was about, but they could have just left that line out entirely if it wasn't going to be addressed now.

Edited by BDArizona, May 13, 2012 @ 8:55 PM.

[samsnee]

I still contend that they should have called this thing The Addams Family Business, marketed it as a sequel, and it probably would have made another $10 million.

[joanne3482]

One thing I didn't get was how were the extended Collins related to Barnabas? It seemed like Barnabas was an only child and just had his parents who were killed. They didn't really show any extended family travelling with them. I wish they had even some sort of throw away line about how the relationship was.

Otherwise, I have never seen Dark Shadows and I liked it just fine. My 16 year old niece loved it and my 70ish year old parents (who have seen some of the original show) also liked it. But I agree the previews make it seem like much more a comedy than it really was.

[Princess Aldrea]

One thing I didn't get was how were the extended Collins related to Barnabas? It seemed like Barnabas was an only child and just had his parents who were killed. They didn't really show any extended family travelling with them.

Maybe once they started getting successful, more distant relatives came over.

[scarlett45]

I'm sorry I this is a stupid question, I'm not familiar with the series, I went to the movie with my mom (she's an old fan), which of David's parents was a Collins? His Mom I assumed because she was a ghost an the supernatural seems to follow the family.

Thank you for the Josette/Victoria explanation! All the way home I thought "if Victoria is Josette reincarnated how did she see Josette's ghost?". But you've explained it well. Thanks!

[Princess Aldrea]

which of David's parents was a Collins? His Mom I assumed because she was a ghost an the supernatural seems to follow the family.

It was his father who was introduced as Elizabeth's brother.

[scarlett45]

Oh ok I missed that part thank you.

[magicdog]

One thing I didn't get was how were the extended Collins related to Barnabas? It seemed like Barnabas was an only child

In the original series and the 90s reboot, Barnabas had a younger brother, so perhaps the current family is directly descended from him.

[Princess Aldrea]

Why would Angelique kill his parents but not his brother?

[Bruinsfan]

Witches be crazy.

[isiscloud]

Yeah, I had a question about who the Collins family would have been descended from if not Barnabas.

Oh yes, I was a bit confused because Maggie changes her name on the train up to Maine, but the family seemed to expect her, and mentioned an application, but didn't see her fill one out even though we saw all of her actions from the time she arrived until she and Elizabeth met in the library and was asked the additional questions not on her application. I tend to overthink these things, though.

I hadn't seen the show although my husband is a fan. He liked it for what it was but didn't give any particulars.

They seemed to leave it wide open for a sequel with Dr. Hoffman becoming a vampire. I can't see her spending eternity underwater.

Didn't care too much about the Angelique/Barnabas scenes. I felt like I was watching Shelly Long and Meryl Streep in Death Becomes Her.

[thuganomics85]

Never watch the series, but I was dragged to this by some friends and it wasn't too bad. The scenery and set design was great, the acting was solid across the board, some decent funny moments, and I at least followed the story. But I did have problems really caring about any of the characters. It might have been on purpose, but it was hard to really care about Barnabas since he pretty much killed people left and right (I know it's not entirly his fault but still), Angelique was insane, Roger was a dick, Carolyn was a brat, not enough of Willie, Victoria was just the typical perfect love interest with a mysterious past, and Hoffman was annoying and not in a good way (if any other Helena Bonham Carter character besides Beatrix deserves to get blasted by Mrs. Weasley, it would be her.) So, the only character I really cared about was Elizabeth. I wish they spent more time developing the characters.

And I was somewhat confused by Barnabas/Angelique's backstory; I'm assuming they had a sexual relationship before he turned into a vampire, but did was it a simple case of he just wanted sex, while she fell in love and went vengeful? He really didn't see to care for her, but it sounded like they have been doing it for quite some time.

Still, it was great seeing Michelle Pfeiffer again. Chloë Grace Moretz was the stand-out and it was a good introduction to Bella Heathcote. And then Eva Green. Oh, Eva Green. I don't care if her character was annoying as hell; I think she's gorgeous and I'm all for seeing her on the big screen again.

Saw the last scene coming a mile away. Doubt anything would come out of it since it under-performed big time at the box office, so a sequel isn't likely. Just not enough interest in Dark Shadows or are people of just sick of the Johnny Depp/Tim Burton duo?

[MusicaDolce]

Why would Angelique kill his parents but not his brother?

So that the Collins family could have descendants and they could then make a TV show/movie about them ;)

But on the whole...I just didn't care. None of the characters were particularly interesting or likeable. Things just seemed to be happening for little to no reason.

I agree - overall, I was pretty meh on the whole thing too. I thought it was fun to watch Johnny Depp dive into another wacky performance, but beyond that, I just didn't care much about the events that were unfolding. I haven't seen the original Dark Shadows, though - I have a feeling I might've appreciated the whole thing a bit more if I had been a fan of the original.

[SlovakPrincess]

Eh. If you go in with very low expectations, it's dumb but entertaining.

I think it would be a long haul for fans of the actual series. The movie seemed to be making fun of the show. (The one running joke I did enjoy was Barnabas trying to find a comfortable place to sleep - silly, but it made me feel for the guy).

The first third of the movie and the gothic backstory was intriguing - they should have spent far more time on that. I loved the ghost Josette and her re-enacting her death off the chandelier. Loved Victoria arriving on the train and the use of "Nights in White Satin" for the credits - but it set a moody, romantic tone that the rest of the movie didn't live up to. I thought Michelle Pfeiffer was great, because she played it seriously the whole time. I liked the little boy and his mysterious ghost mom - wish we'd seen more of them. I loved the mansion. Basically, I wanted more of the serious, gothic parts of the movie, and less of the wacky cartoonish comedy.

The Barnabas/Angelique sex was stupid. I don't think the party scenes added anything. I also think they could have skipped Dr. Hoffman - I can only assume she was a major character from the show, but that part of the movie didn't work for me at all.

The major problem was that I flat-out couldn't stand Angelique. I didn't buy that she was insanely in love with Barnabas and cursed him because he broke her heart. She never seemed that sad that he rejected her, just like she enjoyed torturing people.

Didn't care too much about the Angelique/Barnabas scenes. I felt like I was watching Shelly Long and Meryl Streep in Death Becomes Her.

Exactly.

it was hard to really care about Barnabas since he pretty much killed people left and right

It would have been more interesting if he felt remorse about his insatiable need to kill - but they played it like it was kind of funny, which was disturbing. Also, why did he so obviously have to be a vampire, with the ridiculous claws? Part of why vampires are scary is because they blend in most of the time.

[Bruinsfan]

Also, why did he so obviously have to be a vampire, with the ridiculous claws?

Because scissors would have been too obvious?

[RL1]

Johnny Depp, can you put the Kabuki makeup down for once? I know you are Tim's best lap dog, but still there is a time where weirdness has to be put away for once.

[Princess Aldrea]

Such as a movie about a soap opera vampire from the seventies?

Edited by Princess Aldrea, May 21, 2012 @ 8:43 AM.

[RL1]

It was from the 60s, not the 70s. The original show, that is.

Edited by RL1, May 22, 2012 @ 5:59 AM.

[morakot]

The Barnabas/Angelique sex was stupid.

Funny, my thought was "That's exactly how Breaking Dawn should have played it!"

[RL1]

So would Johnny Depp put the weird roles down for a while and play serious?

[SlovakPrincess]

So would Johnny Depp put the weird roles down for a while and play serious?

Yeah, that might be nice. Actually would've been nice if he tried to play the main role in this movie a little more seriously, and less like a manic cartoon.

I'd gotten so fed up with Helena Bonham Carter in campy roles . . . yet I loved seeing her in a serious role in The King's Speech. Johnny Depp should really take a similar break from the kookiness.

[Virginia Plain]

I have to say, I didn't love this movie but I found it much less frustrating than Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland.

[RL1]

But it is still kooky Johnny Depp in another role not so different from the others. I wish he just leave the weirdness behind for now. I know he could do drama. I don't care if anybody says, "That's his schtick!" Well, right now, it has gotten old.

Edited by RL1, May 30, 2012 @ 7:32 PM.

[Virginia Plain]

It is, but he seemed less kooky than normal to me. He really only seems kooky in films directed by Tim Burton and the Pirates movies. Didn't he more or less play it straight (well, without the ridiculous costuming an accents) in Public Enemies, The Tourist, and the Rum Diary? Those didn't come out that long ago. I haven't really cared about him as an actor since the late 90s, so I don't know.

Edited by Virginia Plain, May 30, 2012 @ 9:09 PM.