‘Ebenezer’ Review: Johnny Depp Haunts Dickens in a Christmas Carol That Bites Back

Johnny Depp stars as Ebenezer Scrooge in ‘Ebenezer’, which reaches theaters on November 13 and has the unenviable job of convincing us that ‘A Christmas Carol’ needs yet another trip to the screen. Ti West directs from a screenplay by Nathaniel Halpern, and Paramount is behind it. It is a strange holiday gamble on paper, and a fascinating one.

West built his name on horror, and Depp is making his return to big studio filmmaking, so the pairing carries a certain curiosity before the lights even dim. The setup is the one we all know, with a miserly Victorian moneylender, a clerk named Bob Cratchit played by Rupert Grint, and a Christmas Eve interrupted by chains rattling in the dark. Ian McKellen arrives as Jacob Marley to warn his old partner that three spirits are coming.

What struck me first is how seriously this film takes the word ghost. West treats the story as a haunting before he treats it as a lesson, and the gloomy palette and cramped interiors make even a familiar counting house feel like a place where something might step out of the wall. The spirits are stranger and more confrontational than the gentle guides I grew up with, and that choice gives the whole 115 minutes a pulse.

Depp’s Scrooge is a big, eccentric, slightly cartoonish creation, all mannerisms and withering looks. He is unmistakably Depp, yet he fits the heightened world around him, and his dry, deadpan timing is genuinely funny. What I liked most is that the thaw feels gradual, so each visit chips away at the old man instead of flipping a switch.

The ghosts are where the casting pays off. Andrea Riseborough is chilling as the Ghost of Christmas Past, and Tramell Tillman manages to be jovial and quietly threatening in the same breath as the Ghost of Christmas Present. McKellen makes the most of limited screen time, even if I wanted more of him.

West’s horror instincts get their sharpest workout in the sequence with Ignorance and Want, which is easily the most disquieting stretch of the film. Tyler Bates’ score and the makeup work help sell these moments, and they linger after the credits. Grint is fine as Cratchit, but the Cratchit household feels thin beside the supernatural material, and I wanted more time with that family.

The film’s weaknesses are real. Beyond the darker coat of paint, there is not much here that rewrites the story, and the beats land exactly where you expect them to. Depp’s quirks occasionally tip into familiar territory, and the relentless gloom can feel heavier than a Christmas movie ought to, which makes this a poor pick for very young viewers.

Still, I came out of ‘Ebenezer’ glad I went. It is not a replacement for the versions we already cherish, but it is a confident, handsome and properly spooky one, with a lead who commits to the strangeness. I give it 7 out of 10.

Did Ti West and Johnny Depp earn their place in the long line of Scrooges, or is ‘A Christmas Carol’ better left alone, and what score would you give ‘Ebenezer’ in the comments?