Dark Shadows

Movie review by Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media
Dark Shadows Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 14+

Mixed-up Depp/Burton vampire comedy has blood, innuendo.

PG-13 2012 113 minutes
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Parents say

age 15+

Based on 29 reviews

Kids say

age 13+

Based on 73 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Dark Shadows is Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's big-screen adaptation of the cult '60s TV vampire soap opera, with a generous helping of silliness added. There's plenty of vampire violence and blood, though the blood is deliberately fake-looking, and the killings largely take place off screen. A flashback sequence involves a young girl's parents shipping her off to an asylum, where she's locked in a cell and receives electroshock therapy. While there's no nudity, there's lots of sexual innuendo and passionate kissing -- and a 15-year-old girl is disturbingly sexualized, often posing, dancing, or speaking in sexy ways. Language includes several uses of words like "s--t," "bitch," and "bastard"; the main character smokes pot in one scene, and supporting characters are shown drinking to excess. This isn't swoon-worthy vampire cinema a la Twilight, but Burton and Depp fans should enjoy the duo's always-quirky pairing.

Community Reviews

P. C bottoms
P. C bottoms Adult
December 21, 2021
age 18+

P. C bottoms

I think it has TO MUCH SEX! Children at 14 should not see that. Too much Rowling around and... Moaning. It's an OK movie just a bit scary

This title has:

Too much sex
1 person found this helpful.
Katherine M.
Katherine M. Adult
September 28, 2020
age 15+

A bloody mess

While there is no nudity in Dark Shadows there are many awkwardly implied sex scenes, as well as extremely sexual innuendos. The fight at the end is all over the place in all honesty, the witch/snake thing (Angie) has bones cracking and rightening, as well as somehow shattering like porcelain all over the place, the paintings end up "crying" blood, somehow a ghost kills the witch, a werewolf enters - I mean it's just all over the place.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
1 person found this helpful.
See all 29 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In the 18th century, Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) is a wealthy and powerful gentleman who attracts the romantic attentions of a servant girl (Eva Green) and breaks her heart. She turns out to be a witch who vengefully turns Barnabas into a vampire and buries him for 200 years. He wakes in the year 1972 and returns to his family home. Slightly befuddled by this strange new world, he moves in with the new generation of Collinses and tries to return the family to its former glory. And it turns out the family's new governess is the (possible) reincarnation of his lost love, Josette (Bella Heathcote). But the witch, now called "Angie," is still around and still looking to possess Barnabas for herself.

Is It Any Good?

In certain ways, this movie comes closest to celebrated director Tim Burton's best and most personal work. He brings many of his unique touches to DARK SHADOWS, including a dazzling, intricate, gothic design; heavy, crazy makeup (and blonde wigs) for his characters; and a penchant for high operatic style.

But while Burton should have been comfortable with the story's large-scale passions and soap opera emotions -- as evidenced by movies like Edward Scissorhands -- he seems unwilling to take the risk. Instead, he retreats to silly, fish-out-of-water comedy, as written by Seth Grahame-Smith (author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), that's filled with jokes about and references to the 1970s. With stronger material, Burton's films are capable of great verbal wit (Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Ed Wood), but Dark Shadows was more suited to a purely visual treatment.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Dark Shadows' vampire violence. Is it scary or funny? Which is it meant to be? What's shown, and what isn't shown? How does that affect its impact?

  • Are the scenes with 15-year-old Chloe Grace Moretz sexy or uncomfortable? Is she too young for this material, or does the movie's playful tone make it OK?

  • How is Angelique portrayed? Talk about female stereotypes in novels and films, particularly the "sexual (but evil) temptress."

  • Why do you think so many of the characters in this movie drink so much? Does the movie treat this seriously or jokingly?

Movie Details

Our Editors Recommend

For kids who love vampires

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