Movie Review: Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Throughout the 80s and 90s, the musical languished in bad movie hell – that Annie was pretty much the cream of crop says it all. But with the success of Chicago, Dreamgirls and Hairspray, it seems that show tunes are finding an audience once more.

Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd is, however, the first to feature scenes of gruesome throat-slashing and cannibalism, which is a shame because John Travolta definitely deserved to be served up in a pie for stinking up the screen in Hairspray. Anyway, this is Burton's adaptation of Steven Sondheim's gothic musical, the tale of the infamous Demon Barber of Fleet Street who terrorised Victorian London.

Although this is the first time Burton has tackled a musical, much of the film feels very familiar. Johnny Depp takes the lead for his sixth outing with Burton. Thankfully, Depp doesn't go the Jack Sparrow route with his interpretation of Todd and turns in a deliberately downplayed, creepily funny performance. And yes, Mrs Burton – that's Helena Bonham Carter – is in there too as Sweeney's partner in crime, serving up the barber's victims in her hugely popular pies.

Depp and Bonham Carter continually surprise with their emotional interpretations of the musical numbers, and the top-notch supporting cast – including Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall – help fill out Tim Burton's often dazzling vision.

Sweeney Todd is not a subtle film and Burton relishes the opportunity to revel the gothic squalor of his grand sets. Thankfully he doesn't hold back from the horror of the story – it might not quite deserve its 18 certificate, but the blood sprays from the severed arteries with wild abandon.

In many ways Burton is playing it safe by making films like this and it would be nice to see him get back to more heartfelt material like Ed Wood or Edward Scissorhands. Nevertheless, Sweeney Todd is bloody good fun that will appeal to fans of splatter and showtunes alike.