Dark Shadows

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Dark Shadows

PG-13

2012

1h 52m

Comedy

Fantasy

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Popcornmeter

35%

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258 Reviews

46%

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250,000+ Ratings

In 18th-century Maine, Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) presides over the town of Collinsport. A rich and powerful playboy, Barnabas seals his own doom when he breaks the heart of a witch named Angelique (Eva Green). Angelique turns Barnabas into a vampire and buries him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas escapes from his tomb and finds 1972 Collinsport a very different place. His once-grand estate has fallen into ruin, and the dysfunctional remnants of his family have fared little better.

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Critics Consensus

The visuals are top notch but Tim Burton never finds a consistent rhythm, mixing campy jokes and gothic spookiness with less success than other Johnny Depp collaborations.

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J. Hoberman

ARTINFO.com

Feb 25, 2019

Sad to report, the [Tim] Burton opus is an unnecessarily complicated tale involving too many characters, not to mention an unresolved moral conundrum that has us happily rooting for an unapologetic mass serial killer.

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David Thomson

The New Republic

Jun 17, 2013

The only reason to see Dark Shadows is to discover how dire and pointless-how flat-out dreadful-a movie can be even when it has Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Helena Bonham Carter attached to its flimsy pretext.

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David Stratton

The Australian

May 16, 2012

3.5/5

Certainly delivers the goods on several levels without quite rising to the heights to which it aspires.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Aug 4, 2026

2/4

How to explain a career that has largely become a parody of itself?

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Michael Leader

Den of Geek

May 3, 2024

2/5

With its overstuffed script and uncertain direction, Lay The Favourite is unlikely to change Rebecca Hall’s fortunes.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Nov 20, 2022

2/4

Dark Shadows takes the easy way out by lampooning its source material, simplifying its ‘70s setting through parody, and handling most of the characters like comic relief in an overall treatment that’s beneath everyone involved.

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Demi D

@redpoodle 11 hrs ago

What a blast of entertainment, and a riot of camp humor. I seriously enjoyed "Dark Shadows". Tim Burton takes you on a wild ride as always! Don't listen to these uptight critics and snobby BS reviews, just watch and have fun!

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Marcus T

@MarcusT12 3 days ago

The movie starts out well enough, but drags on too long and becomes bloated. The over the top effects at the end add nothing to the story and change the tone from a story about the characters into just another special effects movie. Can't recommend it.

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Marco L

@decatur555 Oct 22, 2026

A charming, imperfect and very enjoyable return to a kind of Tim Burton I had missed for a while. It is not one of his great films, but it has gothic atmosphere, visual personality, macabre humor and a playful sense of nonsense that worked for me. Johnny Depp is very comfortable as Barnabas Collins: polite, tragic, ridiculous and completely lost in the modern world. His reactions to television, music, cars and seventies culture are probably the funniest part of the film. The cast helps too: Michelle Pfeiffer brings elegance, Helena Bonham Carter fits perfectly into Burton’s eccentric universe, and Eva Green clearly enjoys being excessive, sensual and poisonous. The story is uneven and sometimes does not know whether it wants to be comedy, romance, supernatural adventure or family satire. Some subplots are weak and the whole thing could use more focus and bite. But I had a good time. It made me smile, it looks beautiful, and it has enough weird gothic charm to be remembered fondly.

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Alfredo P

@RT03403867 Oct 17, 2026

Burton has no idea on what tone he was trying to give this movie since it keeps going back and forth to being a comedy or a horror film. This good thing is that he went back to his classic style without overbloating the CG effects. But at the same time, he just didn't know how to make the story feel entertaining enough as if he was starting to lose his touch.

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B P

@Bradster69 Sep 13, 2026

Not Bad, but Not My Favorite

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Douglas E

@RT50442544 Sep 9, 2026

Só assisti por causa do elenco, mas acabei me surpreendendo positivamente. Gostei bastante!

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Tim Burton

Director

Johnny Depp

Barnabas Collins

Michelle Pfeiffer

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard

Helena Bonham Carter

Dr. Julia Hoffman

Eva Green

Angelique Bouchard

Jackie Earle Haley

Willie Loomis

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Synopsis

In 18th-century Maine, Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) presides over the town of Collinsport. A rich and powerful playboy, Barnabas seals his own doom when he breaks the heart of a witch named Angelique (Eva Green). Angelique turns Barnabas into a vampire and buries him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas escapes from his tomb and finds 1972 Collinsport a very different place. His once-grand estate has fallen into ruin, and the dysfunctional remnants of his family have fared little better.

Director: Tim Burton
Producer: Tim Burton, Richard D. Zanuck, Graham King, Johnny Depp, Christi Dembrowski, David Kennedy
Screenwriter: Seth Grahame-Smith
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Infinitum Nihil, Warner Bros., GK Films, Zanuck Company
Rating: PG-13 (Language|Comic Horror Violence|Sexual Content|Smoking|Some Drug Use)
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 11, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 15, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $79.7M
Runtime: 1h 52m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, Datasat

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