Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Wrongly imprisoned by a lecherous judge (Alan Rickman), a barber (Johnny Depp) returns to London to seek his revenge.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street creates a completely new film genre: the musical slasher.

While some will no doubt be put off by the copious amount of crimson gore that sprays across the screen, it’s actually the perfect counterpoint to composer Stephen Sondheim’s songs, resulting in a delicious black comedy… for the most part.

Johnny Depp is hypnotic as the titular character and Helena Bonham Carter is devilishly charming as his would-be paramour. Opposite them, go-to villain Alan Rickman gives a customarily excellent turn, as does Timothy Spall as his mole-ish sidekick. Sacha Baron Cohen, who can apparently play any type of character imaginable, also gets in on the fun. These four, along with the surprising Ed Sanders form the crux of the film’s best moments.

Unfortunately, there’s also a romantic sub-plot between newcomers Jamie Campbell Bower and Jayne Wisener that, compared to the rest of the film, is sorely lacking in imagination, intensity, and fun. While it may have been more significant in the stage version, here it’s little more than a plot device that screenwriter John Logan should have excised entirely.

Though a little long and far from perfect, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is the first musical I’ve enjoyed since The Rocky Horror Picture Show on stage or screen.