Dark Shadows (film)/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Awesome Music: Danny Elfman's score, plus many great 70s anthems.
  • Designated Villain: Dr. Hoffman's motivations in transfusing Barnabas's blood so she can become a vampire is undoubtedly selfish and her methods are underhanded, but there is no evidence what she is doing is harming him - and considering he kills people just to survive, it's hard to see her actions as too vile.
  • Director Displacement: Some of the advertising claims it's "From the mind of Tim Burton", despite the film actually being based on a cult-classic soap-opera.
  • Dude, Not Funny: After the recent death of Jonathan Frid, the original Barnabas Collins, several people have decided to try and be funny and say that Frid died because of the previews for the upcoming film, despite the fact that Frid filmed a cameo for the film.
  • Ensemble Darkhorse: Barnabus, who was supposed to be temporary character on the original show, is the protagonist.
  • Evil Is Cool/Evil Is Sexy: Angelique.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: Victoria [dead link], governess who sees dead people; Victoria [dead link], pint-sized assassin who makes dead people.
  • Hype Backlash: The reviews were lukewarm at best.
  • Magnificent Bastard: Angelique.
  • Moral Event Horizon: Angelique skirts between being genuinely evil and being sympathetic, up until Barnabas rejects her one too many times, prompting her to chain him back up, blow up the fishery, and rally the town on the rest of the family by revealing Barnabas's murders.
    • She already crossed the line when she killed Barnabas' parents and drove Josette to suicide 196 years ago.
    • Roger abandoning David.
  • Shocking Swerve: The reveal that Carolyn is a werewolf may come off as this to those who didn't notice the foreshadowing beforehand.
  • Stoic Woobie: Maggie/Victoria.
  • Strangled by the Red String: The film's first two acts focus on Barnabas adjusting to the modern era and rebuilding the family empire while dealing with Angelique, but come the third act he and Victoria are declaring their love and embracing despite sharing all of three or four scenes beforehand.
  • Tainted by the Preview: Some fans are less than thrilled about the film's emphasis on broad comedy.
  • Visual Effects of Awesome: Like many of Tim Burton's films, the film has an emphasis on visuals.

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