Dark Shadows: Have Burton and Depp lost the element of surprise?

Some say "We've seen it all before", but could it be more a case of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are copping some flack at the moment for their recent work, and in particular their new film Dark Shadows. The magic has gone, say some. The ideas are falling flat, say others. However, the number one criticism they’re facing is that we’ve seen it all before.

Some have tired of the comic-gothic Burton sensibility, the extravagant Depp performances and bemoan a lack of invention, a characteristic which was abundant in their earlier work. That last point carries some weight. Despite its entertaining premise, there is precious little genuine originality on show here, particularly in an age when vampire films are ubiquitous and often parodied. However, the general criticism that Burton and Depp are covering well-trodden ground can be looked at another way: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Juror's Film Festival: Coraline (d. Henry Selick, 2009)

Henry Selick and Tim Burton must have been separated at birth. It is the only explanation for these two cinematic kindred spirits. The pair have (inevitably) worked together, and their styles are incredibly complementary to each other, but there is a crucial difference. Selick, far more than Burton, has the eye of a child. A twisted child at that, but a hugely imaginative one.

Juror's Film Festival: Big Fish (Tim Burton, 2003)

Tim Burton often thrives on blurring the lines between fairy tale and reality, but whereas with Edward Scissorhands the fairy tale bursts into a world of Americana as an alien force, here the two sit side-by-side, almost undifferentiated.

The story is of Edward Bloom (Albert Finney/Ewan McGregor), a teller of tall tales who is coming to the end of his time. His son, however, has tired of the blatant exaggerations and falsehoods that his father still tells. Over the course of Edward’s last days, the story of his life is recounted, strange and fantastical in its nature, but as his son, Will (Billy Crudup), investigates his father’s life, he discovers that there may be more truth in his father’s stories than he suspected.