Tim Burton's DARK SHADOWS (1 Viewer)

[Brian Borst]

It wouldn't be the first time a movie was misrepresented by its trailer.

 

[Steve_Pannell]

I know this is off-topic but I think it applies here.
I found this quote by Tom Selleck on IMDb:
[explaining why he refused a cameo in the film adaptation Magnum P.I. (????) of his TV series "Magnum, P.I." (1980)] I tell you what worries me -- because I love "Magnum" and we have loyal fans -- is they take these TV show titles, and they buy them and they spend $100 million on special effects, and then they make fun of them and trivialize it. Then they try and get the actor who used to be in it to do some ridiculous cameo to prove to the audience that it's OK. And I will not do that.
I understand that Magnum, P.I. is one thing and Dark Shadows is another but I have to agree with Selleck on this one.

 

[TravisR]

I don't care if they turn Dark Shadows into a comedy (though I certainly can see why the show's fans would) but I just don't understand why they would do that. Dark Shadows seems like it could have life left in it as a serious movie or TV show and making it into a comedy dooms any chance of doing a serious take on it for a long time. Something like 21 Jump Street is deader than disco and a serious version of that would probably just be silly so I get why they'd go for a comedy in that case but DS has a good sized fanbase and vampires have a fairly consistent popularity so why go past the point of no return with that property and make the movie a comedy? If Burton and Depp want to a vampire comedy, why not do one and leave the DS name out of it? Their names would still get butts in the seats.

 

[SilverWook]

I'm more of a casual fan, but this trailer sure makes it look they are taking a cheap shot at some classic horror material. Maybe the DS fanbase isn't Star Trek huge, but pissing them off doesn't seem like a good business strategy.

 

[Richard--W]

I know this is off-topic but I think it applies here.
I found this quote by Tom Selleck on IMDb:
[explaining why he refused a cameo in the film adaptation Magnum P.I. (????) of his TV series "Magnum, P.I." (1980)] I tell you what worries me -- because I love "Magnum" and we have loyal fans -- is they take these TV show titles, and they buy them and they spend $100 million on special effects, and then they make fun of them and trivialize it. Then they try and get the actor who used to be in it to do some ridiculous cameo to prove to the audience that it's OK. And I will not do that.
I understand that Magnum, P.I. is one thing and Dark Shadows is another but I have to agree with Selleck on this one.

It certainly does apply.
Thanks for posting this insider's perspective from Tom Selleck.
This is not the first time I have been impressed with his integrity.

 

[Rhett_Y]

This looks horrible. Ugh

 

[Bryan^H]

I may be completely wrong on this, but I don't think this will be a straight comedy. I get the feeling it may have a little depth to it closer to Edward Scissorhands. A dramedy?
Who knows its hard to gauge from just a trailer. At any rate it looks enjoyable to me.

 

[TravisR]

I may be completely wrong on this, but I don't think this will be a straight comedy. I get the feeling it may have a little depth to it closer to Edward Scissorhands. A dramedy?

It looked most like Beetlejuice to me but yeah, I could see it having a little more Edward Scissorhands seriousness to it.

 

[Mark Collins]

I just spoke to a guy this weekend who had been to the movies and saw the trailer. He said he watched the last year of DS as a kid but could not figure out the plots. He will be going to the movie with out a doubt he said.
He also told me Johnny Deep's next role is the Lone Ranger but he plays Tonto with a dead bird on his head. He saw the Lone Ranger trailer.

 

[Ockeghem]

I went to see Dark Shadows Friday with my wife and three of our daughters. I am planning on seeing it again today. I thought I'd post a few random thoughts on the film in this thread. I've already written some thoughts in the All Things Dark Shadows thread, but thought it would be appropriate to place a couple of combined posts here as well. My comments are spoilerized for those whom have yet to see the film.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

This was an entertaining film, and I really enjoyed it. Sure, there were things that they could have done better, but all-in-all, my wife and I (and three of our daughters who saw it) loved it. There was some innuendo that I could have done without as I didn't think it added anything to the film. But since it was rated PG-13, at least I was not surprised.
The opening of the film (after the introduction of Barnabas, which lasts until about 8-10 minutes into the film), has 'Victoria Winters' (i.e., Maggie Evans) arriving in Collinwood on a train. This is just how it occurred in the original series, except of course it really was Victoria Winters. The music (Nights In White Satin) accompanying her train ride in as she figures out in her mind how she is going to introduce herself to the Collins family when she arrives at The Great House was quite a tear-jerker for me. Here you have my favorite television series of all-time, and this song (which concludes one of my favorite albums of all-time), accompanying Victoria as she arrives. For me, it was a staggering juxtaposition, and one which I am very thankful for having experienced. The power with which this particular scene hit me was not unlike that which I experienced the first time I heard the Dies Irae on brass during the opening of The Shining (1980).
To a lesser extent, but still quite powerful given my memories of the release of Donovan's Sunshine Superman album in 1966, was hearing Season Of the Witch during Victoria's introduction to most of the Collins' family around the breakfast table. I found that song to be quite appropriate for fans of the original series, both with regard to the musical style and lyrics. (Side note: As Carolyn took the needle off of the LP, I looked at my daughters and reminded them that there are no CDs in 1972. Since they know that their father owns about 2,000 LPs, they are used to seeing these spinning on turntables in our home. But I thought it was wise to point out the historical context anyway. )
I thought that the way Maggie was sneaked into the story line was wonderful. That was so cool, and was to me one of the first-best surprises of the film for me. The second-best surprise that I really liked was discovering the true nature of Carolyn. Having read various interviews of Moretz et al. leading up to the film, I thought that Carolyn was going to be a cat (as in "Kitten" a la Roger). I had no idea that she was going to be a werewolf! That was kind of cool. I also thought that she (Carolyn) was going to lead to the demise of Angelique, especially given the cryptic manner in which she departed while Collinwood was burning. I was close, but I didn't expect who it would be that would bring about Angelique's passing. To have Laura be the one to exact revenge -- and engulfed in flames no less -- was quite a nice nod to the original series.
I loved many of the tracks included in the film. Heck, I was fourteen in 1972, and my room looked a lot like Carolyn's, except that pictures of girls (e.g., Marcia Brady and Laurie Partridge) were on my walls, not boys. But I had the Hendrix poster, I listened to Alice Cooper, The Carpenters, Donovan, and The Moody Blues, and I liked a lot of what she liked. And the campfire scene was an all-too-frequent occurrence I experienced at her age. The reading by Barnabas of the lyrics from The Joker was a hoot, too, and especially the comparison to Shakespeare -- LOL.
I thought Depp did a fabulous job as Barnabas. His dialogue -- being two centuries 'out of date,' if you will -- played so nicely against the modern day dialogue of everyone else in the film, including 'Angie.' I thought that that was one of the most charming aspects of the film, in that his anachronisms were a wonderful contrast to some of the vulgarisms heard by those of 1972. I definitely sympathized with him in the film. I do wish that he had not succumbed to Angelique's feminine charms, but I suppose that the director felt that he had to put some of that in the film to appeal to today's modern audiences.
I believe Barnabas bites a couple of people, maybe three in all. I liked how in one scene Barnabas apologizes beforehand. In another, he tells someone that he will not harm them if they tell him what he wants to know. The film had some blood in it, but quite honestly, I found House Of Dark Shadows (1970) to be far more graphic than this film. This was fine with me, as I am really not too much of a fan of gore or slasher films.
Another thing I found quite startling was the scene where Barnabas is 'excavated' by the bulldozers and crew. I think eleven people are killed. You see bodies flying everywhere (due to Barnabas' super-human strength); you also see a couple of people crashing against objects. I do not recall any impalements at all, however.
I will have to listen again to the original score, but my first impression was a positive one. The similarities to the original series' (Cobert) music were definitely there in parts. For example, the usage of the alto flute (several times), and the prominence of the bass clarinet, were a nice homage to the original series. There were a couple of times that I thought I heard re-workings of Cobert's melodic material. There were some other passages that reminded me of the original series music as well. I haven't decided if I will pick up the CD though, as I really need to be passionate about any music selections I purchase. Cobert's music for Dark Shadows is first-rate for a lot of reasons, and I didn't expect any composer of the music for the new film (regardless of whom it was) to be able to come anywhere near close to equaling or surpassing it.
I loved how Julia's eyes opened at the end of the film. That leaves the door open for her to return. After all, how could she really be 'dead'? She had been experimenting with herself the entire time she was 'helping' Barnabas, and we saw her transformed teeth. Beyond that, she was bitten, so she had to be 'alive.'
I loved Barnabas giving Roger the choice that he did. But I wished that Roger had not left. I would have loved to have seen him remain with David.
My greatest disappointment -- and this is no fault of the film itself -- is that I missed seeing the original cast, even though I was carefully looking for them. I saw that they were credited, but somehow missed seeing their cameos. I will be going to see the film again soon, and I will of course be picking up the DVD, so I can wait on seeing that footage.
A couple of characters that I wish would have received more attention in the film were Victoria and (especially) Roger. I don't know if any extended edition of this film is eventually planned, but at the very least, a dozen or so deleted scenes released on Blu-ray and DVD would be welcomed, especially if they fleshed out some of the characters a bit more than was possible in the film as it now stands.
As much as I've read that this film was to be a comedy, it didn't play that way to me at all. Sure, there were a few funny scenes, but there were some mildly frightening parts, and in particular a couple of times where my kids and I cringed. As I stated before, the film isn't gore at all, but when Angelique is being fought by Carolyn (and eventually Laura), it got a bit unnverving. I don't know if porcelain-like dolls get under anyone's skin (for me, it's mannequins / dummies / puppets that make me cringe), but Angelique resembles a couple of those kinds of 'grotesqueries,' if you will, as she is meeting her demise. (N.B.: I couldn't help but think of two other films during two specific scenes in the film. When we get a glimpse of Victoria's having undergone abuse as a child, there is a scene where she appears to be in a 'white room' of sorts, and when she looks up at the camera (I think that this is after the electro-shock therapy session), she looks eerily like Carrie {1976 version}. The second scene concerns Angelique's comeuppance, where we see the green vomit-like substance spewing from her mouth on to Barnabas. I thought immediately of a similar scene included in The Exorcist {1973}.)
One other observation: I found it interesting (from an editing standpoint, I think) how some of the dialogue that we have been hearing in a few of the trailers was 'cut-and-switched' to other scenes in the film. One of the lines that comes to mind concerns the exchange between Barnabas, Elizabeth, and Carolyn with regard to Alice Cooper. The same dialogue is there, but the visual footage accompanying the text is different.
In summary, a very good time was had by all. I hope that the film does well enough so that more films based on Dark Shadows are able to be made.

 

[TheBat]

It looked most like Beetlejuice to me but yeah, I could see it having a little more Edward Scissorhands seriousness to it.

I saw dark shadows yesterday and its more like both edward and beetlejuice and a little bit of sleepy hollow. its more old tim burton then newer. I am not really that familar with the tv series. I did enjoy the movie very much. I had recently gone back to watch tim burton movies from pee wee to his current stuff. it was interesting to see how it was more like his early stuff. I will say this that the special effects in beetlejuice was more impressive then some of the cgi in dark shadows. you will know it when you see it.
Jacob

 

[TravisR]

I saw Dark Shadows and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The trailer looked awful so my expectations were low but it was fun and I think Tim Burton fans will dig it.

 

[Michael Elliott]

I'd agree 100% that it has a lot in common with Burton's early work and that's because it's all style and no substance.
I'd give it 2 1/2 out of 4. The visuals are great, the performances pretty good but the screenplay is just so bland. I thought the film was pretty boring in regards to the screenplay as none of the characters are enjoyable and it just seems like they were trying to pick and select so much to do that they never really delivered a complete movie. I also didn't think the humor worked too well outside the stuff with Alice Cooper.
There were about ten people in the crowd and everything was about as silent as the coffin Depp's character was in for the 200 years.

 

[Brian McP]

I saw it at an arthouse complex in Melbourne, Australia (the Kino, to be exact) on a rainy Friday night-- the movie is playing at every cinema complex here and I thought I'd go and see this picture in a pretty sumptuous theatre with beautiful stadium seating (yep, life doesn't get any better than that)
The 6.30pm show was half full -- and everyone there LOVED the movie -- laughed at every joke and didn't move until the end of the picture when there was some applause. Personally, I'd give it a 9 -- I think it is one of Tim Burton's best movies. But I realized who I was seeing this movie with as well as what kind of demographic, myself and those in the theatre, were enjoying the movie.
We're just going into winter down here and I'd have to say that perhaps this as a summer movie could be heavy going for someone looking for something mindless or light.
The week before I'd seen Marvel's The Avengers at a suburban multiplex (not in 3D, flat) and thought that was fantastic -- yet some movie had to open in the wake of this blockbuster and like following The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, Dark Shadows had to come in and duke it out with a platoon of comicbook superheroes.
I think these weeks at the US boxoffice will go down in movie folklore somehow -- who knew how big The Avengers was going to be? The Dark Knight Rises, Prometheus and all the rest -- how will they go? Dark Shadows, like Ed Wood, will certainly be a cult movie one day, no question about it -- I wouldn't write it off, critically or at the box office, just yet.

 

[TheBat]

I saw it at an arthouse complex in Melbourne, Australia (the Kino, to be exact) on a rainy Friday night-- the movie is playing at every cinema complex here and I thought I'd go and see this picture in a pretty sumptuous theatre with beautiful stadium seating (yep, life doesn't get any better than that)
The 6.30pm show was half full -- and everyone there LOVED the movie -- laughed at every joke and didn't move until the end of the picture when there was some applause. Personally, I'd give it a 9 -- I think it is one of Tim Burton's best movies. But I realized who I was seeing this movie with as well as what kind of demographic, myself and those in the theatre, were enjoying the movie.
We're just going into winter down here and I'd have to say that perhaps this as a summer movie could be heavy going for someone looking for something mindless or light.
The week before I'd seen Marvel's The Avengers at a suburban multiplex (not in 3D, flat) and thought that was fantastic -- yet some movie had to open in the wake of this blockbuster and like following The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, Dark Shadows had to come in and duke it out with a platoon of comicbook superheroes.
I think these weeks at the US boxoffice will go down in movie folklore somehow -- who knew how big The Avengers was going to be? The Dark Knight Rises, Prometheus and all the rest -- how will they go? Dark Shadows, like Ed Wood, will certainly be a cult movie one day, no question about it -- I wouldn't write it off, critically or at the box office, just yet.

agreed. great post.
Jacob

 

[Michael Elliott]

Comparing this to ED WOOD? If that happens I'll buy everyone in this thread that huge DS boxset that just got released (or is getting released).
ED WOOD got great reviews from fans and critics. The only problem is that no one cared about Depp, Wood or Lugosi at the time it got released. THE AVENGERS might have harmed the box office for DS but that's not the reason so many people aren't digging the film. We'll see if word of mouth helps the film next weekend but I'd say the chance is pretty slim.

 

[EricSchulz]

Agreed...audiences gave it a rather disappointing "B-" according to Cinemascore. While that doesn't LOOK bad, it probably won't sway folks that had been on the fence about it.

 

[Ockeghem]

Okay, if these figures are accurate, then the film looks like it had a $65 million worldwide opening weekend. I would like to hear from those who follow box office stats. and whether this amount is good, bad, about right, etc. Would TPTB think that this is a good opening weekend take?
http://darkshadowsnews.blogspot.com/2012/05/65-million-worldwide-opening-weekend.html
It also looks like my wishes have at least been partially granted. I'm really pleased about the deleted scenes. And the possibility of an extended version is also mentioned.
"Elsewhere, Collider has interviewed Dark Shadows screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith, who echoed comments from director Tim Burton earlier this week that the film's DVD and BluRay release will feature deleted scenes: 'There was a lot cut out... As a writer, you want all of those great actors to have those [great] moments... What happens then, is you then have a three-hour movie!'"

 

[Michael Elliott]

Box office isn't really my liking but I think it would be impossible for this film to lose money. Ever magazine writer is going ape shit because of its box office take here in America and while I'm sure it's disappointing to those involved this is one of those cases where I'm glad it happened. The same with HOW DO YOU KNOW.
I mean, seriously. This is a TV series that no one knows and they throw $125+ million into it? Do they not realize that vampire movies don't sell and especially ones from a forgotten TV show? A $30 million dollar weekend wouldn't have been that bad had they not spent so much money on it. I'm really not sure why this film needed a budget that high but I guess around $30-$35 million of that went to Depp and Burton. If CGI effects are causing budgets for films like this to skyrocket then perhaps they need to go back to making them by hand.
Reviews might have been mixed but none of them have been overly harsh. Burton and Depp have had some hits but they've also had plenty of films that people simply didn't want to see so it's not a sure thing giving them a $125 million budget. This isn't ALICE IN WONDERLAND, CHOCOLATE FACTORY or some other beloved film that is going to draw in kids, parents and others. This is DARK SHADOWS. Perhaps the producers will want to drop $200 million on a remake of JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER.

 

[TravisR]

Box office isn't really my liking but I think it would be impossible for this film to lose money.

Yeah, I think Johnny Depp is an even bigger draw around the world than he is in the U.S. so when all is said and done, it'll be an issue of how much profit Warners is going to make rather than if they'll generate a profit. That being said, I'm no authority on box office grosses (and I wish I knew less than they I did because the money a movie makes should be something that I'm completely ignorant of since it has no effect on my enjoyment of the work).