If “The Avengers” is the first must-see movie of the summer, then “Dark Shadows” is the season’s first must-miss movie. As one would expect from director Tim Burton, the visuals are top notch and Johnny Depp delivers an entertaining performance as Barnabas Collins, a 200-year old vampire. But Burton bounces aimlessly between campy humor and creepy gothic horror without striking a consistent tone, and the story appears to have been drained of life before it ever reached the screen.
“Dark Shadows” is based on the American gothic soap opera of the same name, which aired weekdays on ABC from 1966 to 1971. When the show premiered, it did not contain any supernatural elements, but six months later, the show’s writers made soap opera history when they introduced ghosts to the storyline. The series became enormously popular when Collins appeared a year into its run. “Dark Shadows” is now considered a classic, and Wikipedia tells us it enjoys “an intense cult following.”
Burton is among the fans of the show, and on the surface was a good choice as director. His visual sensibilities are unmatched when it comes to this kind of material, as he’s shown in “Beetlejuice,” “Sleepy Hollow” and “Corpse Bride.” What’s more, someone else might have been tempted to take a modernized approach to draw in fans of “Twilight,” “Vampire Diaries” and “True Blood.” But Burton kept the story grounded in the gothic tradition for which the show is famous.
The opening scenes contain promise. We follow young Barnabas as he and his parents, Joshua and Naomi Collins, set sail from England in 1752 to start a new life in America. Two decades later, Barnabas is the heir apparent of a successful fishing business and a massive fortune, but his fate changes when he spurns the love of a witch named Angelique. Determined no one else will have Barnabas, Angelique casts a spell on the woman he loves, causing her to leap to her death from the edge of a cliff. Distraught, Barnabas follows suit, but instead of allowing him to die, Angelique turns him into a vampire and then buries him in the ground, where he remains until 1972, when construction on a new McDonald’s unearths his coffin.
Burton establishes a dramatic tone in these opening scenes and sets up viewers for the kind of grand, atmospheric adventure that characterized the original series. But the moment Barnabas sees the Golden Arches and hisses the word “Mephistopheles,” all of that promise gets sucked into a void of off-kilter campiness - another hallmark of his movies.
After regrettably consuming the lifeblood of a dozen construction workers, Barnabas returns to his estate to find it in extreme disrepair. He’s pleased, however, to discover members of his family still living there, including matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, played straight by Michelle Pfeiffer, her brother, Roger Collins, his son, David Collins, and others. Also living at the estate is David’s new governess, Josette DuPres, who bears a striking resemblance to the woman Barnabas lost.
Angelique is still around, too, and looking as young as ever. While Barnabas was interred, she seized control of the local fishing industry and amassed a fortune of her own. With Barnabas back, she’s determined to undermine his attempts to return the Collins family to its former glory and to win his unbeating heart.
The best part of “Dark Shadows,” other than its art design and production, is Depp. To prepare for the role, Depp studied Jonathin Frid’s performance in the original series, and faithfully emulated the actor’s rigidity and elegance. Shades of Max Schreck’s “Nosferatu” also made their way into Depp’s turn as Collins, and were fun to see.
Unfortunately, that’s where the fun ends. The script by Seth Grahame-Smith does nothing interesting with the secondary characters, and the main storyline never gains any traction, especially with Burton going from serious, to goofy, and back to serious, sometimes within the same scene. I like his sense of humor, and “Dark Shadows” inspires a few good laughs, but I wish Burton had scrubbed the jokes and gone for a more classic gothic tone.
Rated PG-13 for horror violence, sexual content, drug use, language and smoking. Two stars out of four. Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.com.