After two-hundred years of being cursed by the witch, Angelique (Eva Green), as a vampire, Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) is released from his coffin prison by a group of construction workers. He kills them all. Then, he goes to his family's mansion, which is now inhabited by the current generation. This includes Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, her daughter Carolyn (Chloe Moretz of LET ME IN), Jonny Lee Miller as Roger Collins, and Roger's son David, who can see ghosts. They have fallen on hard times because the family business, fishing, has been usurped by Angelique, who is still alive. Now that Barnabas is back he wants to improve his family's lot-- but that means dealing with Angelique. He has a beef with her because she killed his love, Josette, hundreds of years before. She hurled herself off a cliff. But Victoria Winters is David's nanny--and she bears a striking resemblance to Barnabas' lost love...
As someone who grew up watching DARK SHADOWS I thought the Burton movie was pretty good. The trailer is misleading--not that much of a "comedy" or spoof. The first twenty-minutes is a great recap of Barnabas' and Collinwood's history, then goes to the 70's when he's reawakened---and the 70's, from today's perspective, is amusing. Director Tim Burton definitely has a love of the original show, as he manages to capture most of that feeling--and touches on all the main points of that original soap opera, throwing in some sly twists (including werewolf!) along the way. This remake isn't "sacreligious" or a lame "re-imagining", only a current look at a forty+ old television show. Recommended.
After two-hundred years of being cursed by the witch, Angelique (Eva Green), as a vampire, Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) is released from his coffin prison by a group of construction workers. He kills them all. Then, he goes to his family's mansion, which is now inhabited by the current generation. This includes Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, her daughter Carolyn (Chloe Moretz of LET ME IN), Jonny Lee Miller as Roger Collins, and Roger's son David, who can see ghosts. They have fallen on hard times because the family business, fishing, has been usurped by Angelique, who is still alive. Now that Barnabas is back he wants to improve his family's lot-- but that means dealing with Angelique. He has a beef with her because she killed his love, Josette, hundreds of years before. She hurled herself off a cliff. But Victoria Winters is David's nanny--and she bears a striking resemblance to Barnabas' lost love...
