Marcel Winatschek

Sweeney Todd

Watched Sweeney Todd and ended up liking it more than I expected. After Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride I had some idea what Burton might do with a murderous barber musical, but nothing prepared me for how dark and sick this thing actually is. The singing, the blood, Depp completely unraveling in a basement with a straight razor. Genuinely disturbing.

Most people in that theater hated every second. I could feel the recoil, real visceral disgust. Some walked out halfway through. And that’s exactly what made it work for me—the fact that Burton doesn’t care if you’re comfortable with it. He’s just making exactly what he wants, no compromises, no apology.

It’s pretty clear who this works for and who it doesn’t. The people it clicks with will feel it right away. Everyone else hits that wall of disgust immediately. Not everything needs to be for everyone.