The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

In just the last few days, Cory and I have seen a couple of promos for the movie "Sweeney Todd" with Johnny Depp. I honestly can't think of anyone better to play the role of the Demon Barber of Fleet street. He really straddles the line between cute and yet creepy, innocent and yet evil, better than any other actor I can think of.

I've seen the Sondheim Musical, Sweeney Todd, at a production at Oakland University back when I was a senior in high school. The main character was played by my drama coach, Tony (I can't remember his last name-- only that all of the girls in our class had an insane crush on him). The play was great. You don't see a lot of musicals about serial killers, after all-- let alone ones who get their ladyfriend to bake the victims into meat pies.

Without going into too much detail-- Sweeney Todd does it all to get revenge-- primarily against a particularly nasty judge who raped his wife, stole his child, and banished him. For more details, you can visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site.

I don't think there's anyone out there that hasn't fantasized about getting revenge against someone... though hopefully not through murder or human-meat pies. Really, though, I think revenge is a driving force for a lot of people. Seriously, think about it. You get told your whole life that you're ugly, and you dream of turning into a beautiful swan "just to show them that they're wrong."

So tonight, Cory and I were talking over a beer about revenge scenes in movies. I asked him which were his favorites, and he reeled off a lengthy list-- mostly from movies I've never seen. "The Godfather" (because waking up next to a severed horse's head definitely qualifies), "Hostel" (I've never seen it, but apparently there's a pretty amazing revenge scene which involves finger-removal), and "First Blood," the original Rambo movie, where he gets his revenge against the Sheriff (and most of the town, as well).

I brought up the movie "Fatal Attraction," but I refuse to discuss it any further because I don't want to think about what happened to that poor little bunny.

My favorite revenge scene doesn't come from a movie nearly as gory. I love the utterly stupid revenge that the Deltas get in "Animal House." Seriously. They get even with Dean Wormer, Faber College, ROTC, the Omegas, and even the Mayor-- simply by ruining the homecoming parade. Good times.

Well, sweeney Todd isn't in a fraternity, nor does he boil anybody's pet bunny. His revenge is a bit more bloody. And, from the looks of the trailer on the official website, also a bit more entertaining. Seriously... anything Tim Burton touches turns to gold-- even if it is a musical about a serial-killing barber.

Oh, and if you're feeling lonely, you can visit Sweeney Todd on MySpace. I bet if you ask really nicely, he'll even be your "friend."