Cringe

Rating: 5/10 (8 June 2012)

The trailer portrays the film to be a light hearted humorous family flick however I wouldn't be quick to class it as a comedy. The majority of the "funny" aspects of the film are Barnabas' reactions to 20th century objects. His fascination and bemusement with the MacDonald's logo, lava lamps and tarmac was funny the first time but the next dozen or so not so much.
The biggest downfall of the whole plot was the many sub plots and confusing details. We learn things as the film unravels which seem completely unnecessary and there are so many story lines going along at once it muddles up what the film is truly trying to achieve. I found myself rather bored throughout the film and although I normally complain films are too predictable, this one could have gone in so many directions there was no way of guessing what was coming around the corner.
The mother of the 20th century Collins family was the only character I truly liked. Michelle Pfeiffer played her brilliantly whereas the rest of the cast seemed slightly misdirected. Helena Bonham Carter just seemed completely out of place not only with red hair but just generally during the whole film. If you've seen Pirates of the Caribbean, imagine Captain Jack dressed as a vampire and that's what you get from Depp. Regarding the other characters...I only watched it yesterday and I have forgotten them completely. They were as memorable as their names on the credits.
There were a few positives; the set and costumes were brilliant and there were some decent special effects. There was one of the most interesting sex scenes I've seen in a long time, if you thought Twilight had a rough one wait until you see this. I'm surprised the two characters didn't come out with serious injuries. Then again, being immortal has its benefits. In all honesty my favourite part of the movie was the montages of everything getting sorted out set to some uplifting music. But who doesn't love a montage?
The verdict though: I wouldn't recommend this film. I believe it was built up to be a lot with a good cast and Tim Burton as the director but for me, it was a disappointment. From what I've heard you would be better off watching the original Dark Shadows and give this one a miss. I could write another few paragraphs about the flaws in the plot but once we start unpicking every detail of films not much remains.
Charlie Simpson