Having been an aficionado, Tim Burton revives the classic 1960s classic television series Dark Shadows, created by Dan Curtis, for the big screen, teaming up once again with Johnny Depp.

Dark Shadows was a cult TV series, which alluringly mixed the supernatural, romance and drama through the twists and turns of the Collins family.

More than 50 years after the launch of the soap opera, Burton, who had been fascinated by the series’ vibe, imaginatively recaptures the dynamics of the not so ordinary Collins family with his eminent yet unique touch.

For the feature film version, Burton recruited as behind-the-scenes creative team his regular collaborators Academy Award-winning production designer Rick Heinrichs (Sleepy Hollow) and Academy Award-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood (Alice in Wonderland) to relive the Collins family story.

Dark Shadows itself marks his eighth partnership with Depp, continuing their astonishing cinematic collaboration, starting in 1990 with Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd and Alice in Wonderland.

Dark Shadows kicks off in the 18th century when the Collins family — Joshua, his wife Naomi Collins and young son Barnabas, sail from England’s Liverpool to begin a new life in the new world where they establish a fishing company in the coastal area that later carries their name: Collinsport.

Their business develops fast and their success can be seen through the splendor of their aristocratic home, Collinwood Manor, nestled on the highest part of the town.

Barnabas (played by Johnny Depp) has everything any young man ever wanted or dreamt of — looks, power, wealth and girls.

His good life starts to change, though, after he rejects Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green), a raven-haired young woman who works as a servant at the Manor and is madly in love with Barnabas.

Feeling dumped by Barnabas, Angelique, who practices witchcraft, brings nothing but suffering to Barnabas and his family in the hope that she can win his heart and even own him completely.

She gets frantically furious when she finds out that Barnabas has fallen for a beauty named Josette DuPres (Bella Heathcote), granting him immortality by turning him into a vampire and burying him.

Time passes by and almost two hundred years later, Barnabas is accidentally released, going back to the world from the grave, to shockingly discover that he is suddenly in the 1970s.

Then the amusing sequences begin as Barnabas realizes that he is now a stranger who finds many strange things in a strange wild world.

He retraces his way to Collinwood Manor where he encounters the new generation of the Collins family — the matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer), who tries to protect the family name by any means she can; her brother, Roger (Jonny Lee Miller), who seems to care little for his son David (Gully McGrath) after his wife mysteriously dies; and Elizabeth’s eccentric yet rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn (Chloë Grace Moretz).

Also living in the creepy old mansion is the family psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), the servant Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley) and the mysterious new governess Victoria Winters (also played by Bella Heathcote).

While Barnabas tries to restore the glory and stature of his family, he comes across to the most powerful woman in town named Angel, who turns to have a dark secret and bears a resemblance to his old acquaintance.

Depp is as good as ever and is the master when it comes to portraying quirky characters. He really knows how to immerse himself in the caught-in-the-middle-of-modern-life Barnabas with all his 18th-century style and manners, latching right onto a witty yet lovable character.

The supporting actors also produce memorable performances. Pfeiffer, who worked with Burton in Batman Returns, is back on screen and still looks great.

Rising young star Chloe Grace Moretz (who wowed in Kick-Ass, Hugo and Lie To Me) well plays the troubled teen who only wants to get maximum attention from her family.

The film is visually impressive as it is gracefully shot by French cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel (Amelie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) and is exquisitely designed by Rick Heinrichs to create a gothic yet morbid ambiance.

Of the 133-minute movie, the parts on how Barnabas adjusts himself to the new world mostly steal the show, while the love story — between Barnabas and Victoria — seems to miss a beat as the writer concentrates more on the Barnabas and Angel connection.

Not to mention that somehow it feels like the filmmaker and the writers tried to muster the entire series into one jam-packed film, dragging the audience into an over-long story, causing the film to lose a bit of heat and energy. 

Verdict: A fun fantasy delivery from the Burton-Depp team with high-quality special effects and incredible cinematography.

— Photos courtesy of Warner Bros

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