While I admit that making a comedy out of Dark Shadows is a completely natural progression from the (naturally) campy source material, this… I don’t know. But it did make me laugh, so at least it has that going for it.
3 Replies to “Video: Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows”
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Hmm, I guess I missed that it would be a campy remake. I admit to a guilty pleasure of loving both of the previous incarnations for the gothic / romantic intent. Ben Cross!
I have to admit I’ve never watched the original series. Now I’m wondering, should I queue up Dark Shadows on Netflix or wait until after seeing the flick? Because on the one hand, hey, Johnny Depp. And on the other hand, I hear from friends how awesome Dark Shadows was as a series.
Uh — don’t bother with the original series. That aired from about 1966 through 1971. From the look of the trailer, this film does not resemble the original at all. This new incarnation (so to speak) seems to derive its energy from making fun of the late 60’/early 70’s as perceived by someone fresh from the eighteenth century, as it were. It looks absolutely hilarious.
If you want a good synopsis of the original story, (with the original actors, more or less) there was a movie dating from about 1969 or so in which the whole story is told all in the space of about 90 minutes. I caught it by mistake on cable last month. It’s very retro, and a bit silly, but it gets the job done.
I do have to say that Barnabas Collins is fantastically ugly — Edward Cullen he is not.
Be that as it my, the most interesting story element in Dark Shadows is that the vampire actually seeks to be cured of his “condition.” Thus, the state of being a vampire is not considered demonic or unnatural — it is merely the result of an illness, albeit a terrible one.
In contrast, most mortal characters in contemporary vampire stories seem to want to become vampires rather than the other way around.
True Blood played with something along these lines, but only progressed to vampires being able to withstand sunlight (not a problem in Twilight, as those of you who admit to having read it will remember). Somehow I can’t see Eric Northman seeking a cure for his condition, although Bill might go for it.