L.A. Times Pans Depp's 116-Minute 'Ebenezer' as Mean-Spirited Dickens Adaptation

Q: With a tone too grim for kids but too tame for adults, who is this dark reimagining of A Christmas Carol actually for?

It appears to be aimed at a narrow middle ground: older tweens, teens and adult moviegoers who already know *A Christmas Carol*, like gothic imagery, and are curious about either Ti West’s horror style or Johnny Depp’s return. The reviews and release strategy point that way. Paramount gave *Ebenezer* a wide launch in more than 3,500 theaters and a PG-13 rating for fright material, not an R, which suggests the studio wanted a broader audience than hardcore horror fans. But critics repeatedly describe it as too bleak and violent for many children, with zombies, jump scares, a murder and a harsher Scrooge backstory. At the same time, those same critics say it is not intense enough to satisfy adult horror audiences expecting the full force of West’s *X*, *Pearl* or *MaXXXine*. That leaves a more specific audience: viewers who want a familiar Dickens story with a darker, spooky sheen rather than a true horror film or a warm family Christmas movie. Depp’s softened, more sympathetic Scrooge also pushes it away from purists who want a sterner, more punishing adaptation, and toward fans interested in star persona and redemption themes. So the film is probably for genre-curious holiday audiences, especially preteens and teens old enough for PG-13 scares, plus Depp and Ti West followers. The problem, as the reviews suggest, is that this is a real audience but not a very large or clearly defined one.

3 articles · Updated · Los Angeles Times · Nov 13

Johnny Depp’s first film since his Amber Heard legal battle opens Friday to a harsh L.A. Times review that calls “Ebenezer” a botched, cynical take on “A Christmas Carol.”
Ti West’s PG-13 remake adds jump scares, zombies and a murder while expanding Scrooge’s backstory, but the review says the extra violence and misery flatten Dickens’ humor and redemption arc.
Depp’s performance is described as too eager for sympathy, with his vulnerable, childlike Scrooge undercutting the story’s emotional beats instead of earning them.
At 1 hour 56 minutes, the film is judged too dark for most children and not scary enough for adults, leaving its likely audience to a narrow slice of preteens.