The whole idea of taking the first Gothic soap opera (which ran from1966-70), a tale of vampires, horror and longtime family curses, andputting it on the big screen, at first seemed a stretch; but whendirector Burton decided to travel the comedic route, many fans andless-interested folks alike were even more skeptical.
I, too, had doubts, having actually seen the television show (I wasvery young, but remember the creepy opening theme music) and thoughtmaking this sort of a fish-out-of-water 'Brady Bunch Movie' thing was abit absurd. Then, I saw the preview and - for the first half, waspleasantly surprised.
It begins in Liverpool in 1752, when the Collins family, dad, mom andyoung son, Barnabas, immigrate to the United States and settle inMaine. There, they establish a fishing business and soon are therichest people in Collinsport. As a young man, Barnabas (Depp) woos ascullery maid, Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green, 'Casino Royale,' 'TheGolden Compass'), but refuses to marry (or even acknowledge his lovefor) her.
Ticked, as ANY woman would be under these circumstances, she uses hersubstantial witchcraft powers to cause the death of his belovedfiancée, turn him into a vampire and have the townspeople bury himalive. Almost 200 years later, a construction crew inadvertentlyunearths the coffin and Barnabas now must face life in 1972.
These scenes are easily the movie's best, as he tries to deal with thetrappings of modern society; the sights, sounds, technology and mores.He then locates his ancestral home and discovers that it is nowinhabited by the remains of his depressing, downtrodden descendants.
These include Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeifer, 'New Year'sEve'), her brother Roger (Johnny Lee Miller, 'AEon Flux,' thetelevision series 'Dexter'), her daughter Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz,'Kick-Ass,' 'Hugo'), Roger's son David (Gulliver McGrath, 'Hugo'), ameek governess, Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote, 'In Time'), analcoholic caretaker, Willie (Jackie Earle Haley, AcademyAward-nominated for 'Little Children), a senile old maid, Mrs. Johnson(Ray Shirley) and a drunken live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman(Helena Bonham Carter, 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of FleetStreet').
Over the past two centuries, the accursed Collins family has not onlyfallen out of favor with their namesake town, but has fallen intodespair and near poverty, as well. Their only assets being abroken-down cannery and a few feeble fishing boats. Meanwhile,Angelique is still alive and controls most of the fishing fleets in thetown, and is rich beyond imagination.