I know it's upsetting to many DS fans that this movie is not a straight-forward horror picture and that the huge amounts of comedy are disturbing, as if Depp and Burton are making fun of the series which we - and they - have loved so much. But, again, in my opinion, the straight-forward approach to the original story line has been done - pardon the pun - to death. It worked in the original, despite the many inconsistencies as the storyline built, because it was the original. It was fine in the HoDS approach, but it lacked (not because of the script - the PTB demanded cuts) character development and plot explanations. It didn't work as well in the '91 remake because it was so much in-your-face and had even greater consistencies. I don't know how it worked in the '04 attempted remake because, as I said before, I've never seen it. It needs - pardon another pun - new life and new blood. If that means diverting from the original intent, and tossing in more comedy (if it works, and from what I've seen, most of it does because it's logical in the storyline), then that's what it means. Regarding the comedic aspects, it seems that it works far better here than was Dan Curtis tried in his '91 remake - making Willie Loomis a doofus, as opposed to the tormented soul portrayed by in the original, fell flat. His "aw, shucks, Mr. Barnabas" approach was simply annoying. Abbott and Costello did it better when they met Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and the Wolfman all in one movie. I laugh during that one, and appreciate the retained horror, but not with the '91 DS version.
I see so much of the original in the clips from this movie. I see a re-working of the original (especially with Angelique becoming a composite of herself, Burk Devlin and a bit of Laura Collins) simply brilliant. Having Elizabeth Collins Stoddard being more of "let's do what it takes to get them and make us rise again" character, rather than the equally fantastic "I've-got-a-secret-and-it's-destroying-me" character is also incredible. "Younging" Carolyn Collins Stoddard by four years into a morose 15-year-old with a sassy mouth is wonderful, while the original 19-year-old "my-life-stinks" was a brilliant character portrayal. It even seems to me that Vicki has been upgraded. In the original, she devolved into such a whiney "I-don't-understand" person who lost her backbone that she became another annoyance. In the '91 version, her characterization made her look just plain - again, in my opinion - dumber than the original, if that's possible. In this one, despite from what we've seen as her dressed like a prim-and-proper Catholic school girl, she has a bit of a nerve. And Julia, from both earlier visions, has gone all out from being a torn, fearful, angst-ridden person to a b*tchy, hootch-downing don't-snap-my-bra woman with a bit of vulnerability.
Of course, because I haven't seen the movie yet, I could be wrong on all counts.
It's all good. But what was good before does not necessarily work anymore. It's obvious that Depp and Burton wanted to enjoy making this film because they both love the series. They also wanted to capitalize on the current vampire rage in the media (right up there with the zombie rage, and that's good - I love zombies; I'm a big fan of The Walking Dead). But they didn't want to make another Twilight knock-off. Twilight is now becoming old news - the latest film was seared. Our series never should be.
Gerard