'Dark Shadows' Review

Dark Shadows (dir: Tim Burton, 2012) Cert: 12A

I don't really have the time to properly review Tim Burton's latest as Cannes is dominating my life but I was able to slip away from the festival for a couple of hours and see it; late review I know but whatever.

 It's seems a lot of critics have a real problem with this adaptation of the 60s soap-opera and unless one is being completely mental, I cannot fathom a reason why. Sure Dark Shadows isn't perfect - it was terribly marketed as a dumb retro comedy when really it's a typical Burton gothically abstract tale, it's probably a touch too long and a couple of things don't add up (not once does anyone question why Barnabas Collins [Johnny Depp] is as white-as-a-sheet, has fangs, pointy fingers and a hideous amount of guyliner) but so what?

 Dark Shadows is wonderfully off-beat, visually sumptuous and brilliantly sporadic entertainment aided with a fabulous soundtrack, grand performances - both comedic and dramatic, and a true sense of Burton-esque whimsy that floats in all it's demented, historically estranged glory.

 You'll laugh, be often shocked by the lashings of strong violence and overtly sexual gags and have a ball spending time with the Collins. Plus Chloe Grace Moretz continues to prove how brilliantly talented and ultimately bad-ass she is. Oh, and Alice Cooper is the ugliest woman I've ever seen too Barnabas...

 So yeah, I saw it in some French cinema with subtitles surrounded by foreigners and I still fucking loved it.

By Chris Haydon