Dark Shadows
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: May 11, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 42 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
26
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesManohla DargisMay 10, 2012
Dark Shadows isn't among Mr. Burton's most richly realized works, but it's very enjoyable, visually sumptuous and, despite its lugubrious source material and a sporadic tremor of violence, surprisingly effervescent. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanMay 9, 2012
Depp's performance is more than just funny - it's ghoulishly endearing. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'HehirMay 10, 2012
Dark Shadows offers potent atmosphere and delirious '70s fashions and hilarious gags and some really terrific performances, none better than Pfeiffer's triumphant return to the screen as a pitch-perfect family matriarch. Read full review
80
Boxoffice MagazinePete HammondMay 8, 2012
It's a great time at the movies and a wickedly clever cinematic treat. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMay 10, 2012
There are times, not too many, when the movie drags. But when you consider all the pitfalls avoided, and all the laughs and pleasures it provides along the way, Dark Shadows is a satisfying and skillful effort. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaMay 10, 2012
Pinpointing the era - lovingly - is very much what Dark Shadows' has on its mind. While there's a tangle of romance and vengeance and all sorts of family matters to deal with, Burton's film is really about hippies in bell-bottoms, stoned out in their VW micro-buses. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrMay 10, 2012
Tim Burton has got his groove back. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsMay 10, 2012
May be too light for vampire purists or fans of the original show, but fresh blood is just what the doctor ordered. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony LaneMay 18, 2012
Along with Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson, Burton is one of the few magi who know what can be dredged up, even now, from the cauldron of special effects. [21 May 2012, p.80]
70
SlateDana StevensMay 10, 2012
It's Depp as Barnabas that holds the movie together. The story may be less than coherent and some of the minor characters washouts, but when he's on-screen, there's energy and humor and that foppish sex appeal that (as in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie) reminds you why you once liked Johnny Depp. Read full review
70
TimeRichard CorlissMay 10, 2012
Attention must be paid to movie allure, in a star like Depp and his current harem. Angelique may be the only satanist among the women here, but they're all bewitching. Read full review
63
New York PostLou LumenickMay 11, 2012
Maybe it's because I share Burton"s twisted affection for the 1970s, but for all its shortcomings, I'd sooner watch a sequel to Dark Shadows than another installment of the bloated "Pirates of the Caribbean" saga any day. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigMay 10, 2012
At its best in comic mode, more effective as goofy spoof than horror show. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter TraversMay 10, 2012
The pleasures of Dark Shadows are frustratingly hit-and-miss. In the end, it all collapses into a spectacularly gorgeous heap. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertMay 9, 2012
It offers wonderful things, but they aren't what's important. It's as if Burton directed at arm's length, unwilling to find juice in the story. Read full review
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