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Dark Shadows poster

Movies that feel likeDark Shadows (2012)

Vampire Barnabas Collins is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate and family have fallen into ruin.

If you loved Dark Shadows, the closest films we have are Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024), The Mermaid (2016) and Bruce Almighty (2003). All three share Dark Shadows' witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Being John Malkovich (1999).

🍅 35% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.2 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Tim Burtonwittyplayfuldreamlikeromantic
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Disney Plus

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If Dark Shadows hit the spot, these will too

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice poster
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
2024 · dir. Tim Burton
🍅 76%★ 6.6comedy · fantasyMax

Same director's gothic mischief, haunted houses and undead mayhem

The difference: A sequel's frantic afterlife chaos, not fish-out-of-water period comedy

After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Betelgeuse, Lydia's life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.

The Mermaid poster
The Mermaid
2016 · dir. Stephen Chow
🍅 95%★ 6.2comedy · fantasy · romance

A fantastical outsider navigating modern life for the sake of love

The difference: A slapstick eco-fable romance, not gothic vampire mischief

When Xuan's real estate project threatens the home of mermaids, Shan is sent to stop him. When they fall in love, he is encouraged to cancel the project. However, he must save them from bigger danger.

Bruce Almighty poster
Bruce Almighty
2003 · dir. Tom Shadyac
🍅 48%★ 6.8fantasy · comedy

Sudden supernatural power turning an ordinary life delightfully chaotic

The difference: A contemporary faith comedy, not centuries-old gothic romance

Bruce Nolan toils as a "human interest" television reporter in Buffalo, NY, but despite his high ratings and the love of his beautiful girlfriend, Bruce remains unfulfilled. At the end of the worst day in his life, he angrily ridicules God — and the Almighty responds, endowing Bruce with all of His divine powers.

Into the Woods poster
Into the Woods
2014 · dir. Rob Marshall
🍅 71%★ 5.9fantasy · comedyDisney+

A curse driving fairy-tale characters into tangled, witty misadventure

The difference: A musical fable mashup, not one vampire's culture-clash comedy

In a woods filled with magic and fairy tale characters, a baker and his wife set out to end the curse put on them by their neighbor, a spiteful witch.

Being John Malkovich poster
Being John Malkovich
1999 · dir. Spike Jonze
🍅 94%★ 7.7comedy · drama · fantasy

A strange, dreamlike premise mined for offbeat, surreal comedy

The difference: Cerebral identity-swap surrealism, not gothic vampire fish-out-of-water fun

One day at work, unsuccessful puppeteer Craig finds a portal into the head of actor John Malkovich. The portal soon becomes a passion for anybody who enters its mad and controlling world of overtaking another human body.

Groundhog Day poster
Groundhog Day
1993 · dir. Harold Ramis
🍅 93%★ 8romance · fantasy · comedy

Both land wit and play at once

The difference: Reviewed even better

A cynical TV weatherman, along with his idealistic producer and his sardonic cameraman, is sent to report on Groundhog Day in the small town of Punxsutawney, where he finds himself repeating the same day over and over.

Practical Magic poster
Practical Magic
1998 · dir. Griffin Dunne
🍅 31%★ 6.4romance · fantasy · comedyMax

A family curse tangled up with witchcraft, romance, and dark comedy

The difference: Contemporary witch-sisters drama, not a resurrected 18th-century vampire

Sally and Gillian Owens, born into a magical family, have mostly avoided witchcraft themselves. But when Gillian's vicious boyfriend, Jimmy Angelov, dies unexpectedly, the Owens sisters give themselves a crash course in hard magic. With policeman Gary Hallet growing suspicious, the girls struggle to resurrect Angelov -- and unwittingly inject his corpse with an evil spirit that threatens to end their family line.

The Invention of Lying poster
The Invention of Lying
2009 · dir. Ricky Gervais
🍅 56%★ 6.4comedy · fantasy · romance

A high-concept fantasy premise played for dry, witty comedy

The difference: A single-joke modern satire, not gothic period romance

Set in a world where the concept of lying doesn't exist, a loser changes his lot when he invents lying and uses it to get ahead.

When We First Met poster
When We First Met
2018 · dir. Ari Sandel
🍅 45%★ 6.4comedy · romance · fantasyNetflix

The same mix in both: dream logic, then romance

The difference: Leans harder into romance than Dark Shadows does

Using a magical photo booth that sends him back in time, Noah relives the night he met Avery over and over, trying to persuade her to fall for him.

Lulli poster
Lulli
2021 · dir. César Rodrigues
★ 4.9comedy · romance · fantasyNetflix

Comedy with a pulse of wit, in both cases

After getting electrocuted by an MRI machine, an ambitious young medical student begins to hear the thoughts of others.

Click poster
Click
2006 · dir. Frank Coraci
🍅 34%★ 6.4comedy · drama · fantasyStarz

A magical twist upending an ordinary life with wistful, comic results

The difference: A modern family-man morality tale, not gothic vampire whimsy

A married workaholic, Michael Newman doesn't have time for his wife and children, not if he's to impress his ungrateful boss and earn a well-deserved promotion. So when he meets Morty, a loopy sales clerk, he gets the answer to his prayers: a magical remote that allows him to bypass life's little distractions with increasingly hysterical results.

17 Again poster
17 Again
2009 · dir. Burr Steers
🍅 57%★ 6.4comedy · fantasyNetflix

A man displaced in time, comically adjusting to a changed world

The difference: A body-swap wish-fulfillment comedy, not gothic curse-and-vampire lore

On the brink of a midlife crisis, 30-something Mike O'Donnell wishes he could have a "do-over." And that's exactly what he gets when he wakes up one morning to find he's 17 years old again. With his adult mind stuck inside the body of a teenager, Mike actually has the chance to reverse some decisions he wishes he'd never made. But maybe they weren't so bad after all.

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The best-reviewed films that share Dark Shadows’ defining feeling.