UPDATED – Has Tim Burton destroyed Dark Shadows?

You’ve undoubtedly seen it by now (and if you haven’t, scroll down to the embedded video before proceeding with the rest of the article), and if you’re a fan of the classic TV soap opera Dark Shadows, you probably have a very strong opinion about what’s on display in the newly released trailer for the Tim Burton film. When first announced, everyone was jumping up and down with glee, for the most part, over this new collaboration between Burton and Johnny Depp because Burton certainly knows his way around the macabre. But the trailer has set everyone on edge because of the … comedy! Comedy?! Yes, comedy. No one was expecting this movie to be funny, and now that we’ve seen the trailer, there are cries of Burton forever ruining a treasured TV memory (note: the show will still exist in its original form, so not even Burton’s meddling will actually “ruin” it — the original Planet of the Apes survives to this day with Burton’s version a distant, unpleasant memory). After seeing a lot of the comments online from the fans, I decided to poll our CliqueClack staff to see what they thought of the trailer. After reading what we have to say, take our poll below and sound off in the comments section with your thoughts.

Chuck: I was really expecting a more reverent take on the material, but I do think it makes sense that Barnabas would be a little freaked out by the new technology (it never seemed to phase him in the original series). I’m also a bit surprised that the Collins family knows of Barnabas’ condition, and I was turned off by some of more broad comic moments (Barnabas brushing his fangs?!?!). Not really liking the Nosferatu-style fingernails either.  But, I think the trailer is over-selling the comedy, particularly with the choice of music. I actually saw more dramatic moments within the trailer that were completely underscored badly by the crazy, comedy music. I think someone is going to end up regretting this trailer at some point because I just feel from what I saw, that the movie is not going to be as over-the-top funny as it’s being sold right now. If Burton is bringing in the funny, at least I hope it will be darkly funny in the vein (no pun intended) of Beetlejuice. I could be wrong though. I hope that with so many original cast members making cameos that they were given an opportunity to read the script and signed on in good faith that the material will be treated with dignity.

An: I want to set Burton’s hair on fire. After seeing it I am starting to wonder what happened to Depp’s artistic integrity. Is he just doing it for the paycheck now?

I liked the trailer’s beginning but the rest looks like a waste of $. I see what Burton wanted to do, but humor isn’t his strength. I miss when he did his own unique work. I am still smarting from the mutual desecration Depp and Burton committed against the Wonkas.

Michael: Ugh.

I’m with An.  It started out interestingly enough and went rapidly downhill from there.  If [original Barnabas, Jonathan] Frid cared about the roll at all — and it’s evident he does — he doesn’t seem to have a problem with the production, being he cameos in it. Or maybe he simply has no say or, wisely, has chosen not to state anything publicly.

Burton’s atmospheric sets will surely be super in the film, but the humor elements will propel it right into Schlocksville.  No, this wasn’t the vehicle for the type of chuckles he’s no doubt infused into the story. That being said, I see it possibly turning into a camp romp that will no doubt become popular with the midnight festival set.

I’ll reserve judgment until I actually see it, but I don’t have a good feeling about it.  Not after Burton did what he did with Wonka.  (Side Note: I did enjoy his Alice “Burtdaptation” however …)

Keith: Yep, the humor fell flat for me too. Then again, it’s PG-13 right?

Kim: I agree with the others … I was interested in this movie until I watched the trailer. Their projects are very hit-and-miss. I hated Wonka and Alice in Wonderland. Why can’t they go back to making classics like Edward Scissorhands or Sleepy Hollow? The opening of the trailer made it look like it was going to be a period piece like Sleepy Hollow and then I was disappointed. I did like his look though.

Bob: I don’t know, I’m a little bit interested. It’s being played for laughs, but I’m sure it’s going to be a bizarre sense of humor. It had me thinking of The Addams Family.

I’m a very big Burton fan. I think the only real “miss” in his career (at least in my opinion) was Planet of the Apes. While his Wonka didn’t have the charm of the Gene Wilder version, I think it better captured the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) darkness of [Roald] Dahl’s work. It wasn’t a remake of the movie, it was a film based on the book. I feel both flicks are different enough to have value.

I’m not trying to start something, and I haven’t really seen any of the original soap, but don’t most fans love Dark Shadows ironically? I always hear about how campy and awful the show was. Am I ill informed?

Chuck: It’s undoubtedly campy by today’s standards, and I think people seeing it for the first time in the present probably do go for the “look at that stage hand outside the window” kind of gaffes that happened when the show was being broadcast live. Those who watched the show when it first aired treat it with a little more dignity — and I remember being scared by it when I was a kid — so I think there is going to have to be a balancing act between the camp aspects and the drama. But I still think the trailer is purposely playing up the comedy, and I still think the film will be more dramatic than it looks right now.

Dan: Based on the trailer this looks like the same trick Tim Burton has been doing for the last 10 years, only more annoying.

Editor’s note: If you haven’t had a look at the follow-up post that takes a listen to snippets from Danny Elfman’s score — which seems to tell a completely different story about the movie than the trailer does — please have a look, and them come back to read what some insiders who have actually seen to film have to say about it versus what the trailer portrays.

Clacked by Chuck Duncan
on Mar 19, 2012 @ 15:00 EST5EDT