Dark Shadows (2012)

[Aurora B]

I vaguely remember that when Pirates was announced, some of the online chatter was in the same WTF? vein, expecting that to be a disaster. Not saying this will have the same successful result, but I can see the tongue in cheek humor they are trying to achieve. I hope they pull it off. I kind of like the idea that the whole situation of Barnabas Collins being played as a fish out of water with a goofy family of decedents story.

[huntergrayson]

The music cues are really lazy to me. 'Superfly' is an awesome song but it's as fresh as using 'White Rabbit' during a 60s psychedelic scene.

For me, what's so frustrating is that I genuinely WANT the Goth Trio to be better. They are all genuinely talented individuals and were once actual iconoclasts. But they frequently default to all the depth of, as Mutagen so brilliantly pointed out, cosplay.

I also don't think Burton, as a filmmaker, has shown much growth for such a long career and for so many films. The fact that his next project is literally remaking his first film, for Disney, when the result of the Frankenweenie short film in '84 was that Burton was fired from Disney for being too weird says *everything.* I know few people in this age think it, but selling out is still possible.

Also, I know that my generation has known nothing BUT post-modernism but, I'm kinda sick of it being the default mode. I don't want an ironic detachment or distance all the time. Why can't I simply have a dumb teen party movie rather than a dumb teen party movie as a fricking youtube video? How awesome - and rare - would a genuinely gothic or supernatural film be that actually nutted up and was like "yes, we are actually taking this seriously." And not by claiming to be "based on a true story" shakycam mockumentary.

[chonies]

Even Dark Shadows set in its original late 60s cultural context would be interesting. It is a bit PoMo but a gothic setting against other cultural issues would be an interesting juxtaposition to the dark/faux-gothiness of the currency of Twilight. Star Trek and Twilight Zone are fabulous artifacts for exploring the cultural psyche of the era: multiculturalism, technophobia and techophilia, and changing social mores. Most of the soaps of the era did similar boundary pushing, and this could be a terribly interesting film if only... it'll probably be fine, but I already suspect it's going to be phoned in.

[Deleted]

Mar 17, 2012 23:20:00 GMT -4 @huntergrayson said:

Also, I know that my generation has known nothing BUT post-modernism but, I'm kinda sick of it being the default mode. I don't want an ironic detachment or distance all the time. Why can't I simply have a dumb teen party movie rather than a dumb teen party movie as a fricking youtube video? How awesome - and rare - would a genuinely gothic or supernatural film be that actually nutted up and was like "yes, we are actually taking this seriously." And not by claiming to be "based on a true story" shakycam mockumentary.

YES. THIS. And I say that as someone who traffics almost exclusively in irony/sarcasm 24/7. But that's my output. I want my input more sincere.

I know you know this, but "House of the Devil", though not specifically gothy, meets the criteria you've outlined.

[proper stranger]

I saw a commercial for this during tonight's Once Upon a Time. What. The. Serious. Hell. was that?

Mar 17, 2012 23:20:00 GMT -4 @huntergrayson said:

How awesome - and rare - would a genuinely gothic or supernatural film be that actually nutted up and was like "yes, we are actually taking this seriously."

For all my misgivings about his recent work, I thought that Tim Burton, of all people, would make an honestly gothic movie, instead of this jokey bullshit. It reminds me of that crappy Nicole Kidman movie of Bewitched.

Mar 18, 2012 14:37:14 GMT -4 @bstewart said:

And I say that as someone who traffics almost exclusively in irony/sarcasm 24/7. But that's my output. I want my input more sincere.

Well said.

[comfortablynumb]

I'm going to agree with the dissenters, and say that it looks like it will be a lot of fun. I think Johnny Depp looks great. I remember watching the original Dark Shadows as a latchkey kid (yep, just aged myself), and getting so scared, I'd have to run out onto the front porch to save myself. I can't wait to see it.

[chitowngirl]

At first, I wanted Dark Shadows to be all Rue from Chocolat, but a vampire. But since it obviously isn't, I can get behind something that looks to be like Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice. Tim Burton really knew how to shine then.

[kateln]

Mar 19, 2012 12:24:16 GMT -4 comfortablynumb said:

I'm going to agree with the dissenters, and say that it looks like it will be a lot of fun. I think Johnny Depp looks great. I remember watching the original Dark Shadows as a latchkey kid (yep, just aged myself), and getting so scared, I'd have to run out onto the front porch to save myself. I can't wait to see it.

I'll admit it, I like Tim Burton and Johnny Depp ("Sleepy Hollow" and "Sweeny Todd" are two of my favorite Halloween films) so I'll watch this. I just hope it's more "Sweeny Todd" and less "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".

[Freelance Exorcist]

From now on TB should just name all of his movies "Tim Burton's All the Goofy Makeup in the World, and Johnny Depp Still Can't Make You Forget You're Watching Johnny Depp."

[Sunnyhorse]

Mr. S was a big Dark Shadows watcher as a kid (I don't think it aired here -- don't remember it at all), and we did a big Netflix marathon spread over a couple of months of weekends last winter, so now I have a soft spot for it, too. (We just watched the outtakes-and-extras DVD this past weekend.) Mr. S thinks the new movie looks fantastic, but I'm kind of annoyed that they're playing it as slapstick -- the fun of laughing at it, I think, should be on the viewer's end, not in the making of it.