Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Mr Pinky is a huge fan of Tim Burton's flicks. A passion that goes all the way back to his debut feature "Pee Wee's Big Adventure". His latest, a screen adaptation of the Sondheim musical is probably the darkest and grimmest thing he has put to screen. Mind you, Burton's love of the macabre dates back to his pre feature debut cartoon "Vincent" and has manifested itself in films like "Nightmare Before Christmas", "Sleepy Hollow" and "Corpse Bride". This time all stops are out in this bloodbath of a splatter musical that is surely the bloodiest thing I have seen on the screen.

The tale of Todd, the demon barber of Fleet street in Victorian era London and his partnership with struggling pie shop owner Mrs Lovett is superbly brought to life by Burton’s great visual sense and his wonderful actors. Burton regular Johnny Depp once again nails the part. Imagine a demented and psychotic Edward Scissorhands. Burton's latest muse, ex Romantic turned Goth Helena Bonham Carter makes a perfect match for Depp. Like flesh and blood versions of a Burton designed cartoon they both look amazing.

I also loved Sasha Baron Cohen as rival barber Adolfo Pirelli who meets a nasty end at the hands and blades of Todd. It's not giving the plot away by revealing that Todd's victims end up being transformed into meat for Lovett's pies which prove to be a huge success with London's hungry poor. Which makes me think, is Tim Burton a vegetarian? Watching his vivid and stomach churning depiction of living beings being transformed into meat is a truly frightening experience. This is grand guignol filmmaking at it's most shocking. Just be prepared to look away at times.