Spurned love story with a gothic twist

Rating: 7/10 (17 February 2020)

I never saw the TV show so saw this with no prior knowledge of its backstory nor expectations. I figured if Johnny Depp was in it then it had to be half decent and I was not disappointed. I don't like all of Tim Burton's films and have not seen all of them but his films have an immersive visual aesthetic suited for dark fairy tale settings. The visuals in the film are great and the story of spurned love never gets old. It's not much of a horror film and the comedy is light but I enjoyed it for the original story with striking gothic visuals. Original to me at least as I did not know where the story was going. The acting is great and typical of Tim Burton films the characters are charmingly weird. I was a little disappointed some characters were written off early. Overall I enjoyed it so not sure why critics and fans rated it so low. I certainly enjoyed this more than the Twilight movies which I've only seen one chapter in the series but fell asleep in theatres. I think critics and fans are comparing it to the original TV series and perhaps it does not quite rekindle the high water mark of the original. Since I am watching it with no nostalgic reference I enjoyed it for what it is. A comedy of spurned love with a macabre gothic twist.