A great movie in itself...

Rating: 7/10 (2 September 2012)

I remember watching the 1991 series and was quite fond of it, especially because of the acting by Ben Cross and Lysette Anthony, and it had a really interesting plot. So I was really curious to see how the concept would fare under Tim Burtons dark, twisted, surreal touch. Don't get me wrong, I am big fan of Burton and enjoy most of his previous work.
I will say that you should not hold the 1991 series up against this 2012 movie version, that is sort of a mistake. I haven't seen the 1966 running series, so I can't compare anything to that. Where as the 1991 series was more Gothic dark romance, this 2012 movie does have that, but adds some of Burtons dark humor as well, which most of the times does work out well enough. Just don't do what I did, and draw similarities between the two.
If you just watch the 2012 movie as a stand-alone movie, it is actually good entertainment. It has a great story that doesn't really require a lot of thinking on the viewer's part. It is just sit back and enjoy the movie. But what amazed me in it, as with most of Burton's work, is the level of details in everything. The Collin's mansion for example, wow, it was just off the charts. It had such a great wonderful touch to it, dark and mysterious, yet grand and ancestral at the same time.
As with the classic Burton movie, you have Johnny Depp (playing Barnabas Collins) and Helena Bonham Carter (playing Dr. Julia Hoffman) in it, and as always they deliver a great performance, both individually and together on the screen. But "Dark Shadows" also boasts other impressive names, Michelle Pfeiffer (playing Elizabeth Collins Stoddard), Jackie Earle Haley (playing Willie Loomis), Chloë Grace Moretz (playing Carolyn Stoddard), and also two great appearances by Christopher Lee (playing Clarney) and Alice Cooper (as himself, just in a 1972 version!).
Personally I found the comedy in the movie a little bit misplaced, because I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to laugh or take it seriously. (I didn't laugh, though!) I will say that without the comedy, the movie would have fared a bit better than it did. Perhaps I just didn't appreciate the comedy in a movie of this genre and caliber, but who knows, you might just enjoy it and find it funny.
"Dark Shadows" is definitely a great movie to watch, it is entertaining and interesting, and it doesn't really put vampires up as teenage idols with sparkly skin and big hair - so it is a great step back to the original charismatic and devilish creatures that vampires should be. And it is a movie well worth a place in any movie collection both for fans of Burton, Depp, Bonham Carter, or not. I will definitely watch this movie again, just to pay extra attention to the details in the shots.