This isn't great, but it was expected. The reviews for Ti West's "Ebenezer" are in, and they're mixed at best. The film holds a 52% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 48 on Metacritic. It opens tomorrow.
I've had my doubts about this one. West, who has mostly found success with low-budget horror, and Depp, in his first major Hollywood film since his Amber Heard court battle, are tackling a classic Christmas character whose story has been told and retold countless times.
So the obvious question is why West wanted to do this. This is the guy who gave us the "X" trilogy, and "Pearl" is modern horror at its stylistic peak. After that, West was supposed to be working on his passion project, "Scream Queen." Instead, he made a PG-13 "Christmas Carol" for Paramount. One outlet estimates there are around 272 adaptations of this story. Did we really need number 273?
Nathaniel Halpern ("Legion," "Tales from the Loop") wrote the script, and the cast is talented: Andrea Riseborough, Ian McKellen, Daisy Ridley, Rupert Grint and Tramell Tillman.
Now the good news. "Ebenezer" is tracking really well for a movie that cost about $35M. It's looking at a possible $23M opening and will probably have legs as Christmas approaches. If it gets there, Paramount has a hit no matter what the reviews say. And, quite honestly, Depp's fans don't care what critics think. It's his first major studio film in nearly a decade, and those fans will show up. The numbers say they already are. In France, where the film has already opened, audience scores have been excellent.
Depp also made this one cheaply. He took a big pay cut to play Scrooge, earning only $5M instead of his usual $20M. That's a smart move for an actor trying to show studios he's worth the risk again, and Disney is already in talks to bring him back for "Pirates of the Caribbean 6."
Depp has also been marketing this one heavily. He's even shot ads in character as Scrooge, which have been amusing to watch. He's gone all-in on this one. Listen, he's a talented actor. You can't watch his work in "Ed Wood," "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," "Donnie Brasco" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" (the first one) and not come to that conclusion. It'd be great to see him team up with a great director as this comeback continues.
Given the low budget, “Ebenezer” will probably amount to a win for Depp. For West, I hope this was a one-time paycheck before he goes back to R-rated filmmaking.
Given the low budget, “Ebenezer” will probably amount to a win for Depp. For West, I hope this was a one-time paycheck before he goes back to R-rated filmmaking.