Trailer: Dark Shadows

So, for better or worse, sickness and in health, richer or for poorer, come hell or high water, here is the Dark Shadows trailer… and it’s actually not nearly as bad I as I had feared. As we all feared. When I had first posted set photos from this film a few months ago, I did what no journalist should do: Judge a film by its set photos. Perhaps, though, I was uninformed of the context. I vaguely remember my mother watching a hazy show called Dark Shadows back on Sci-Fi channel, but it seemed more like a soap opera to me back then. This trailer, however, highlights the film’s comedic side, which actually seems to support the silly make-up and ridiculous acting from Depp. I dare say this could be a spiritual successor to Beetlejuice. Please don’t stone me.

Let’s face it, Tim Burton’s career has been in somewhat of a creative nosedive for the past 10 years. I call it the Millennium Curse. Quite a few once-great filmmakers fell prey to this curse, including Terry Gilliam, the Wachowski brothers, Robert Zemeckis and so on… but now that we’re approaching the double digits, perhaps a change is in order. Perhaps the curse has been lifted… That’s if you believe in that sort of thing. With the heralding of a Beetlejuice sequel and evidence of this Dark Shadows trailer seeming “not bad,” perhaps it’s a sign of a return to form.

Or it could just be another crap pile like Alice in Wonderland. You be the judge!