This is probably the most interesting choice for a holiday release since the remake of Dracula in 2000. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is Tim Burton’s reproduction of Stephen Sondheim’s dark musical focusing on a tale of vengeance drenched in blood. It is a hypnotizing, bloody mess that moves between amazing highs and terrible mistakes, but the whole piece looks so good that I really can’t wait to watch it again.

Some movie studios may have sought actual singers for the different roles in this film, but Paramount, either in bravery or foolishness, decided to let Burton pick his old cast of favorites. He again casts the ever-present Johnny Depp for the lead role. He plays a barber who was falsely imprisoned. Now that he’s free, he desperately wants to gain revenge against the dirty judge (Alan Rickman) and his assistant (Timothy Spall). Mrs. Lovett is played by Burton’s wife, Helena Bonham Carter. She is the meat-pie baker who turns Sweeny’s “customers” into some very tasty treats to get rid of the bodies.

Anyone who is a fan of the musical may be disappointed by Burton’s changes to the script. After the good opening detailing Todd’s trip to London, the musical starts to fail. Oddly enough, this coincides with Carter’s weak performance of “The Worst Pies in London” and the speedy version of “Poor Thing.” Depp and Carter are obviously not meant to be Broadway singers. They only pull off their roles due to the great emotions that they elicit. This means that the music fails utterly though. Jamie Campbell Bower and Jayne Wisener co-star as Sweeney’s apprentice and daughter, and they both save some of the musical scenes with their good voice work. Sondheim’s strong score is also responsible for glossing over some of their singing mistakes.

Regardless, it is very obvious that this is Burton’s first try to make a musical piece. Some of his directing choices play out with the grace of Sweeny’s victims slamming against the cold hard floor of the bakery below. The piece just lacks refinement. Anyone unfamiliar with the Broadway show may have trouble telling the different acts apart. The identity of a certain important character because very obvious as they stray in the background throughout. The competition with Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen), Sweeney’s rival barber, is also painfully obvious. Depp’s acting choice to keep all of Sweeny’s angry and hatred inside makes some of the movie’s second act a bit unbelievable.

But, even with all of these flaws, the classic Sweeney story still fits well into Burton’s strengths in gothic visuals. London’s dark and ancient streets, carefully crafted with very good green-screen graphics) is a perfect contrast to the copious blood flowing from Sweeney’s shop. Burton did choose to up the bloodshed while cutting the music –different solos are cut and entire choruses removed in order to shorten the movie to two hours. The role of the barber’s quest for revenge is something even Depp had to work hard to pull off, but Burton does find some interesting ways to breathe life into his dark story. The lively rendition of “By the Sea” offers a welcome and surprisingly nice relief from Sweeney’s dark tale. While it happens, you should really enjoy it. The moments of brightness definitely don’t last long.