DARK SHADOWS

Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green,

Helena Bonham Carter, Bella Heathcote,

Chloe Grace Moretz, Jonny Lee Miller

HBO

"Every family has its demons"

When I'm asked who my favorite actor is, I always say it's Johnny Depp. Yet lately for the past decade or so, I've hardly seen any of his movies. He is still my fave though mainly because of his versatility in portraying uniquely quirky characters.  

In "Dark Shadows", he is Barnabas Collins a landed merchant who was turned into a vampire when he rebuffed the romantic notions of a 'witch'.  He is unearthed by mistake after two centuries of being buried alive. It is the year 1972 when bell bottoms and hippie mania was the main trend. He finds himself the head of a dysfunctional family, his descendants still living in Collinwood Manor (the family estate) which has fallen into ruin located in the town named after them, Collinsport. 

This latest collaboration between Depp and Tim Burton is as wacky as can be.  Not really a surprise since it is Tim Burton, after all. It was interesting and funny to see Barnabas Collins readjusting to modern day life as well as to his strange family.  Each of them with their own inner demons to deal with.

Towards the ending though, it got really so messy with a crazy witch exacting her revenge by wreaking havoc.  A chaotic few minutes that results in the total destruction of Collinwood Manor as well as the film itself.   Things just kept on getting weirder by the minute that the only recourse was to switch off the telly and head to bed.

Now I know why and when I stopped watching his films. It was during the period in his career when his collaboration with Tim Burton yielded freaky characters who only appeal to people with a dark sense of humor.  Unfortunately not my cup of tea.  Perhaps it is time I find another fave!