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Dark Shadows

Play trailer Poster for Dark Shadows PG-13 2012 1h 52m Comedy Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
35% Tomatometer 258 Reviews 46% Popcornmeter 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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Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows

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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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Critics Reviews

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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. Go to Full Review
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. Go to Full Review
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. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Aug 4, 2026
2/4
How to explain a career that has largely become a parody of itself? Go to Full Review
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. Go to Full Review
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. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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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. See more
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. See more
B P @Bradster69 Sep 13, 2026 Not Bad, but Not My Favorite See more
Douglas E @RT50442544 Sep 9, 2026 Só assisti por causa do elenco, mas acabei me surpreendendo positivamente. Gostei bastante! See more
Laura G @Lala67 Sep 5, 2026 Absolutely tantalizing!! I was tortured by my sisters when the show was out in the 70’s and I didn’t watch this when it came out for that reason….. what a mistake!! This was awesome and I’m so disappointed in its rating!! This movie is WAY UNDERRATED!!!😢 it was the best movie I’ve watched in YEARS!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️ See more
TheBlackDragon T @RT11830675 Jul 26, 2026 After seeing some clips of the movie on Tiktok, i went ahead and watched the movie, and it is a good one. classic Tim Burton humour, a stacked cast, the usual suspects of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, who star in a large amount of burton movies, aswell as a surprise cameo that i really liked, and won't spoil for anyone else who is yet to watch the movie. a beutifull, liguebre take on a redemption story. a well worth movie to watch. See more
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Dark Shadows

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Cast & Crew

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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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Dark Shadows

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Movie Info

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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