Johnny who? Hello Eva Green! Dark Shadows surprises long time fans

By Angela Thomas

The Cast of Dark Shadows
Photo courtesy of: pfangirl.blogspot.com

 It’s rare that I go to the movies. To be fair, it is not the movie content but really the prices. However, when I do go, you better believe there will be some magic involved, i.e. vampires, witches, and werewolves.

A week ago, long-time Dark Shadows fan, my mom, asked me to accompany her to see the movie. You see, while the rest of the world thought vampires were “too dark” of a subject, my mom huddled up watching her favorite vampires appear on the small screen. Many don’t know that Dark Shadows was once a TV drama in the 60s. Directed by Dan Curtis, the TV series was a fan favorite.

Now, famous and quirky director and producer, Tim Burton, has taken it upon himself to adapt the TV show into a film based off of the original series. Question is, has he done a good job?

After the movie was over, my mom just looked at me and said “that was nothing like the television show,” but she wasn’t surprised, this is Hollywood after all. It isn’t that Tim Burton didn’t do a good job but when something is supposed to be “based off of” a television show or book, you expect that to be true. According to my mom, the only things that held true were the names.

But as a newcomer into the Dark Shadows world, I must say that I enjoyed this piece. Although Johnny Depp usually catches my eye because of his brilliant acting, I wouldn’t say that he was the star. Going into the movie, I even expected youngster, Chloe Moretz to steal the spotlight but even she didn’t do it for me. My attention was focused on Eva Green who portrays the evil and seductive witch, Angelique Bouchard. Not only is Green extremely beautiful but she was extremely creepy in the film.

Eva Green as Angelique Bouchard
Photo courtesy of: blogs.indiewire.com

The set, the make-up and costuming would be the best aspect of this film. Burton does an amazing job of making human actors look ethereal or animated. However, after looking at a few reviews of the film, the one that stood out to me the most was Movie Fone’s. I must agree with them in my disappointment with not hearing Danny Elfman’s music throughout the film. Burton and Elfman go together, one without the other is like macaroni with the cheese; disastrous and sad. The script was also something to be missed. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll understand me when I say “When the heck was Carolyn turned into a werewolf?” These instances as well as others were a few to question the writing on the movie.

Again, although I have a lack of knowledge on the original TV series, Dark Shadows was a new Vampire story for me. I enjoyed it for what it was meant to be, which is entertaining. However, I understand what it feels like to be a diehard fan of something only to see it adapted on the big screen in a totally different way. If you’re a fan of the Gossip Girl book series, you’ll know what I mean!