Plodding, boring and nothing new from Burton.

Rating: 4/10 (10 May 2012)

'Burton-esque' (bert-on-esk) adj. by-word in movie circles for being artistically quirky yet sumptuous, darkly comical, beautifully bizarre; usually unlike anything you've seen before. Ironically, it's been some time since Tim Burton has actually been Burton-esque, and his latest, Dark Shadows, is another plodding, repetitive entry into the Gothic director's canon. His unique taste in visuals is omnipresent, but there's just nothing new on offer; the set dressing – dauntingly big houses, ominous furniture – is strangely boring and the costumes are drearily typical. Perhaps the film's principal weakness – if not the utterly ludicrous finale – is his determination to employ the same actors he always collaborates with. Johnny Depp has stretched his idiosyncratic persona too thin and Helena Bonham Carter's bonkers-by-numbers shtick can only stay amusing for so long. If it wasn't for the handful of genuinely funny moments and the spot-on soundtrack this would have been completely irredeemable.