Page 26 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II, III & IV • May 23, 2012
Johnny Depp, Tim Burton revive TV classic
by Dennis Seuling “Dark Shadows” is the seventh big-screen collaboration between actor Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton. These have yielded successes (“Edward Scissorhands,” “Alice in Wonderland”), middling pictures (“Sleepy Hollow”), and disappointments (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”). Since “Dark Shadows” has its origins on the small screen with a cult-classic performance by Jonathan Frid, this latest Depp-Burton effort runs the risk of comparison. However, the TV series ran from 1966 to 1971, so the time might be right for a fresh look at the tale. In the movie, Barnabas Collins (Depp) is turned into a vampire during the Colonial era by witch Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green), whom he has rejected for the woman he truly loves, Josette DuPres (Bella Heathcote). When construction workers unearth his coffin in 1972, Collins discovers that his family’s fishing business has suffered because of nearly 200 years of competition from a company founded and still headed by the immortal Bouchard.
Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) finds a lot has changed after 200 years in ‘Dark Shadows.’
There are many forces at play in “Dark Shadows.” Depp has yet another quirky role to make even quirkier with his trademark eccentricities. The character of a reincarnated vampire certainly gives the actor plenty of leeway to make his own rules. Then there is the fish-out-of-water theme. After two centuries locked in a box, as Barnabas refers to his chained coffin, he has no knowledge of 20th century America. He believes horses are still the primary means of daily transportation, assumes that a singer on television is a sorceress trapped inside, and regards the McDonald’s arch as a sign of Satan, since it resembles the script of an ancient, illuminated book. As in all Burton films, the look is one of its greatest attributes. There is a gloomy, heavy atmosphere over the exteriors and sets, with raging waves smacking up against high cliffs; an ominous, run-down mansion; dusty, dank, gaping rooms; and assorted Gothic trappings. (continued on Crossword page)