Dark ShadowsMovie Reviews

See this movie in Dark Shadows: The IMAX Experience in IMAX

Review This Movie

Go Based on 4,284 reviews
Breakdown:

Sort by: Helpfulness
Review Date

Go
Written June 10, 2012
Worth seeing

by feezard

Went with my 15 yr-old daughter because we're both fans. It was not a comedy, as the trailers portray it, but it DID definitely have some comic moments. It covered everything: drama, romance, comedy, touching moments. The makeup on Jonny (especially in night scenes) was pretty lame. But I'd see it again!
- 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
So-so
Written May 14, 2012
Dark Shadows

by JenMilligan5

I love any movies with Johnny Depp. I went to see this movie with my mother, who grew up watching the real Dark Shadows,and Johnny did a real good Barnabas, but there were some scenes that were just a little uncalled for and my opinion, Cheapened the movie.
I can tell that they put alot into trying to make this movie like the show that came on back in the 60's and 70's, they combines alot of the shows and made it a movie.
This movie is NOT for kids, I have already let mine know, they will NEVER watch this movie.
- 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Must Go!
Written May 13, 2012
Dark Shadows

by maga

My husband and I both loved the movie. We were laughing and had a good time. if you grew up in the 60 or 70 alot of laughs. Saw a few cameo's from actors from the original soap Dark Shadows.
- 6 out of 7 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Go
Written May 20, 2012
Dark Shadows Now VS Original

by AppleScruff

I noticed the theater wasn't as packed as I expected. But there was a mix of original Dark Shadows fans along with new Dark Shadows fans. While this movie was excellent with special effects and bringing it into present times, it did not follow the original series very much. I was very disappointed with the cameos by original DS cast - the late Jonathan Frid, Lara Parker, David Selby and Kathryn Leigh Scott. If you blinked for even a split second, you wouldn't realize that they made cameos in the movie at all. Alice Cooper made a fantastic cameo and fit in perfectly. The special effects were fantastic and the portrayal of Angelique at the end really summed up the "modern" Angelique. Dr. Julia Hoffman was very disappointing - Helena Bonham Carter was not up to her usual standards of acting and assassinated Dr. Hoffman and badly. Johnny Depp made Barnabas Collins humorous and still managed to retain some of Jonathan Frid's original character in his portrayal. Worth seeing once.
- 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Must Go!
Written May 12, 2012
DS

by curvylady

Love the movie ! I was glad I had watched repeats on netflix I was able to catch little pieces of things that they took from the orginal movie which was fun. There were parts in it that reminded me of other movies such as a scene that resembles " death becomes her" and also " carrie' lol but really enjoyed it !
- 6 out of 7 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Oh No!
Written May 19, 2012
would not even recommend on a airplane

by newbeg.61203

I did not expect much and I was not surprised. It was even worse than I thought it would be. It was not funny, or entertaining. Even Mr. Depp could not save this awful movie. I would not recommend it for any age or human or animal.
- 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Go
Written May 13, 2012
Dark Shadows

by Lesly4FandangoCentury's

I thought Johnny Depp was good in his acting and the humor was there with all the cast and the show had some good graphics and some 70s music and the story line drag on alittle and made me yawn and I think it was in the middle of the show.The beginning and the end was pretty good laugh alittle and 0ver all it was a OK movie and I just wanted to see this because Johnny Depp was in this show. I thought Tim Burton could have done better and you just have to rate this show yourself....... so go!!!
- 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
So-so
Written May 12, 2012
Where is the Essence of Dark Shadows?

by jcnclt2005

This movie is visually stunning and starts out good. About 20 minutes in the script just goes nowhere. It's as if someone wrote the first part and then a rookie finished it in about an hour. Johnny Depp is wonderful as Barnabas. Michelle Pfieffer is good as well. Eva Green is horribly miscast as Angelique and appears to have no idea what she is doing. Instead of being a scary witch she comes across as a whiny annoyance in the film. The characters of David and Julia Hoffman needed to be more developed. The movie never seems to be able to decide if it wants to be a comedy or a drama. If it was trying to be either it sorely failed. The ending left a few things open. Maybe someone who understands this genre will make a decent sequel.
- 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
So-so
Written May 15, 2012
A Little Disappointed

by theodoric

Johnny Depp was outstanding, as usual, in the quirky role. The family matron and the witch were also notable. Unfortunately, the other characters were so under-developed that you didn't really care what happened to any of them or even if anything happened to them at all. The love interest, although living in the house as governess, was absent from the screen for a very significant portion of time and we didn't really notice until discussing the film afterward. The ending left something to be desired. It's probably worth seeing if you like Tim Burton or Johnny Depp, but I'd opt for waiting until it moves to a discount theater or comes out on DVD.
- 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
So-so
Written May 12, 2012
Ehh

by catdeb86

Would have been better if movie was made in serious tone.. Comedy was dry, and most was lost on people that never saw the original. Johnny depp is my favorite actor but this movie just didn't match his ability
- 6 out of 7 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Go
Written May 14, 2012
fun movie

by lpr

thoroughly enjoyed this movie. it was silly fun with the entire cast giving interesting takes on each of their characters. i usually enjoy anything that shows the collaborative efforts of johnny depp, tim burton and helena bonham carter and this lived up to what i was expecting. it is a little racy for the younger ones, so parents should take note, but for everyone else, go enjoy.
- 6 out of 7 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Go
Written May 13, 2012
Not the movie the trailer makes it out to be...

by

...and from where I sit, this is a GOOD thing.

My mother was a fan of the original soap opera when it originally ran in the late '60s; we had the good fortune to meet the late Jonathan Frid when the annual DS convention shared space with a general-interest science fiction convention we volunteered for. So seeing the trailer was almost a personal insult, and I saw the film with her last night abjectly terrified that we would be walking out by the end of the first reel. Instead, we turned to one another as the closing credits began to roll with smiles on our faces.

I suspect that the disappointed tweets in the sidebar are from people who walked into the theater expecting a plot-free farce focusing on Barnabas as fish out of water, heavy on the 70s jokes. Everything from the trailer was still in the movie, but those jokes were all secondary to the actual PLOT. This was a love-letter to the original series, remarkably faithful to the period in which it was set, and I'm glad I went.
- 7 out of 9 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
No
Written May 22, 2012
just ok but then....

by behrlvr

it went down hill quickly. I loved the tv show and this movie started to tell the story but then it started to go down hill quickly. To bad because I like watching Tim Burton and Johnny Depp movies.....
- 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
So-so
Written June 20, 2012
might be beter titled "Gray Shadows"

by comixfreek

Visually stunning, some good acting, decent story...but it still seemed flat. I'm someone who didn't grow up watching Dark Shadows but got into in as a teen when it come out on VHS (yes, VHS), then the 1990s TV remake (which was AWESOME btw!) and more recently started watching the original Dark Shadows on Netflix. While all the characters were here and many plot points are kept the same, it could have been a bit more serious in tone and less kid-friendly. It's also a shame the original Dark Shadows cast did not have at least a few speaking lines. Not sure there will be a sequel...or if there should be.
- 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No
Must Go!
Written May 22, 2012
Hilarious and Dark

by sinfulkitten

The movies was great. Johnny Depp did an amazing job and left me in stitches. I'm definately glad I went to see it in theatres and didn't wait for it to come out on DVD, it was so worth seeing it on the big screen. If you enjoy tim burton films you'll definately love this one, unless you are boring and have no sense of humor.
- 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
- Was this helpful to you?
- Yes
- No