"Tell me, future dweller, what is the year?"
Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) is the son of a wealthy
English family who move to Maine , USA in the late
18th Century. After spurning the affections of servant/secret with,
Angelique (Eva Green) he falls in love with local girl Josette (Bella
Heathcote). Angelique, unable to bear seeing someone else with Barnabas, kills
his parents and Josette and turns Barnabas into a vampire. 200 years later it’s
1972 and Barnabas is unearthed from a coffin which the townsfolk placed him in
and attempts to reconnect with his living family and rebuild the great Collins
name.
Tim Burton appears to be on a bad run at the moment. His
last two films 9 and Alice in Wonderland were critical
failures though Alice
proved to be extremely popular at the box office. It is my feeling that Burton is currently
favouring style over substance and that is evident in his latest offering. Tim
Burton has no trouble creating beautifully odd looking sets, characters and
films but it is one thing to make a film that ‘looks Tim Burton’ and another to
make a film that is any good. The film has all the gothic grace of Tim Burton’s
finest and he manages to meld this with a 70s look which works quite well.
Details of both periods look great and work well together. The set dressing, clothes
and music are all spot on. Where the film falls down is in the plot.