10 Horror Movies That Turned Out Nothing Like You Were Promised

7. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street

Sweeney Todd
Dream Works

"A goddamn musical?!?!"

That was the response of the vast majority of people who flocked to cinemas to watch Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street back in 2007.

Somewhat bizarrely, this Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter-headlined spin on Sweeney Todd didn't let anyone know it was a musical. Sure, Stephen Sondheim had turned this tale into a full musical stage production in 1979, but Burton's movie was positioned as a standard gothic horror affair rather than a musical gothic horror affair.

The trailers for the film promised a stylish, charming horror full of the usual Burton touches, with only one brief semblance of song uttered by Depp's titular Todd. By playing down the fact this picture was a musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street received a significant backlash upon its release.

Critics lambasted the movie for how it didn't market itself as a song 'n' dance offering, whilst there were plentiful reports at the time of paying customers walking out of the cinema upon realising exactly what they'd forked out to see.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.