'How about a shave?'

Rating: 10/10 (3 April 2020)

A musical masterpiece draped in gothic splendour and an incredible experience! Based on the theatre musical by Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp) is a barber who has been wrongfully imprisoned for 15 years after an evil judge (Alan Rickman) desires to rid of him and pursue his wife. On Todd's release, he seeks revenge with the help of Mrs Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) the local pie shop owner whose pies will be made of Todd's victims.... This film holds a very special place in my heart; for a good three years I was obsessed with it from the characters to the songs and the making of (the dvd has great features into the production process from the gorgeous costume design by Coleen Atwood to the perfect prosthetic effects!) It has a very unique style and dark beauty that is hard to capture but it manages to do it perfectly. Depp and Carter are absolutely amazing in the central roles and make for an engaging screen couple. Burton has always said it's in the eyes that performances really shine and if an actor can communicate something strong without talking, that's something really special. This is completely the case here; although it's a musical with grand numbers, there's also its fair share of more somber tunes and the revenge plot is riveting just through the look in Depp's eyes and the way he moves. The supporting cast are all just as important; from Timothy Spall's slimy performance as Beadle Bamford to Sacha Baron Cohen's scene stealing one as Pirelli, Todd's rival in the business. And the gore... wow! Just slasher spectacle at its very best! The first time Todd slits a throat is shocking, disturbing and a great horror moment. His subsequent murders are all equally as splendidly mad. Darkly comic, emotionally devastating and the best horror musical by far, this is a must for fans of both genres