Tim Burton on familiar ground

Dark Shadows
Review rating ***
Director Tim Burton, supported by his familiar ensemble, draws deep into his Gothic bank account to show those upstarts in the Twilight franchise that whatever they can do, he can do more of, with better blood and lots of, well, everything.
Vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts, you name it, Burton has packed the lot into Dark Shadows, 120 minutes of neck-biting, panda-eyed fun. He even has Christopher Lee in a guest appearance as a gnarled old sea captain who doesn’t move a lot but with that voice, who cares.
The number of movie influences that you can spot in Dark Shadows would make a good quiz game question. I spotted traces of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride, a dash of Sweeney Todd, a dose of Twilight, some Witches and even classic references to The Fall of the House of Usher, The Tomb of Ligeia and Nosferatu. He also pushes the tally still further with The Munsters and even Death Becomes Her.
The film is a sort-of spoof of the whole vamp teen thing, but every now and then forgets that it is having a laugh and comes over all serious instead. This is a shame because the vamp trend could stand some teasing and Burton is the man to do it.
Dark Shadows does have a fascinating storyline with old hand Johnny Depp playing Barnabas Collins, an ex-Liverpool escapee in the 1750s whose family makes a fortune in fish, but who is cursed by witch Angelique (Eva Green). He is on the receiving end of the old vampire curse, is buried alive and dug up only when McDonalds build a new outlet. He then emerges to slaughter the builders, giving a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘You’re lovin’ it’. He goes on to find the Collins family much depleted with matriarch Elizabeth (Michelle Pfeiffer) and some kids hanging around the old cliff top mansion.
He tries to revive the family’s fishy fortunes and battle ensues with much cursing, biting and general mayhem. Ghosts are laid, witches disposed of and the unnatural imbalance of Life and Death restored.
The picture is visually stunning and boosted by guest appearances from Alice Cooper and Helena Bonham Carter, but the dialogue, strangely for such a gifted director as Burton, is a little lame, hovering uneasily between urine-extraction and High Gothic drama.