Dark Shadows (2012)

I am too young to have seen the original televsion series, Dark Shadows. I know from a story on NPR around the time that this movie came out in theatres that the original was a television series, a night time soap opera that almost didn't get off the ground until they added a supernatural flare in the form of Barnabus Collins, vampire. I don't know if this incarnation bears any resemblance to that original series, but I suspect past character names and overall plotting, not too much is the same. But, that's okay.
This film has that unmistakable Tim Burton look to it, starting with the star of the film, Johnny Depp. Part of it is the color scheme, but I think one of the things that is Burton's calling card are insane little details, like all the wood work in Collinswood. There is also a certain amount of playfulness in his films, even though they often seem serious or even dire.
The cast of the film is great. It's kind of funny that the American actor (Depp) is playing the role of the British character and the British actors (Carter, Miller, Lee) are playing the role of an American character. They pull it off pretty well, though. But, I expect no less from any one of them. This may be Michelle Pfeiffer's best role yet, as I did not find her character annoying at all. Not even once. She is also aging quite gracefully and I will go so far as to say that the mature Pfeiffer is at her most beautiful now.
The screenwriter of Dark Shadows is the author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Seth Graham-Smith. I think that he may have found his niche, the tongue-firmly-in-cheek horror mash-up genre, though this film is more of an 'inspried by' deal.
Now to the important stuff. What is up with this kind of vampire? He's not the Twilight kind of vampire, nor the True Blood kind. Sunlight burns his skin but not quickly enough to be accidentally fatal. He is also self-proclaimed to be effected negatively by silver. We never find out about stakes through the heart, beheading or crucifixes. We do see that he is not terribly concerned about fire, whether of natural or supernatural source. He is strong and fast and can fly not to mention easily mesmerize humans. you don't really see the whole mesmerism/hypnosis in most modern vampire films, Bram Stoker's Dracula being the exception. It's almost as if most modern vampires are either godlike *cough* Twilight *cough* or super-charged zombies, by which I mean they only serve as super killing machines. The Dark Shadow's vampire seems to be pretty close to what I think of as a vampire which is somewhat of a relief. I was worried that I wouldn't see another vampire on screen that fit what I think of as a vampire.

Dark Shadows at IMDB