My quick rating – 3.9/10. Sweeney Todd: Slice & Dice isn’t trying to reinvent the razor, just polish it up a bit with limited funds and an admirable sense of purpose. Set in 1846 London, this latest adaptation of the vengeful barber tale stays close to the mythos, centering on Sweeney Todd (Terry Bird), who teams up with pie-making partner-in-crime Mrs. Lovett (Jo Dyson) to carve out their own brand of justice against a corrupt judge.
Right off the bat, you can tell the filmmakers stretched their modest budget as far as it would go, and surprisingly, it mostly works. The sets aren’t lavish, but they’re just atmospheric enough to sell the bleakness of lower-class Victorian London. It feels a bit like watching a stage production, and that theatrical vibe permeates everything from the lighting to the blocking. Whether that’s a stylistic choice or just a limitation, it ends up being one of the film’s better features.
Jo Dyson gives a fairly strong turn as Mrs. Lovett, clearly leaning into the twisted humor of the character, and while Terry Bird has his moments as Todd, his performance can be uneven. Certain line deliveries and emotional reactions feel off, either underplayed or oddly timed. That said, in the context of this near-play-like presentation, it doesn’t derail the experience, just tempers it.
The story itself is faithful, if a bit tired. If you’ve seen any version of Sweeney Todd, you know what’s coming. This take doesn’t do much to expand or innovate on the source material. What it does do is use flashbacks effectively to build Todd’s seething rage, adding a bit of narrative weight behind the bloodletting.
Speaking of which, the gore is present but toned down, more red syrup than shocking splatter. You won’t be wincing at the effects, but you also won’t be laughing at them, which, in a film with this budget, is a small victory. The severed limbs and meat pie ingredients are clearly Halloween store props, but they get the job done without pulling too much focus.
Director Steven M. Smith deserves credit for paying attention to detail. It’s clear he wanted to evoke something dark and atmospheric without veering into parody or cheap-looking schlock. He mostly succeeds, especially in creating a mood that carries the viewer through a familiar tale. That said, the film doesn’t add anything fresh to the legend of Sweeney Todd—it simply revisits it with a stripped-down approach.
In the end, Slice & Dice is a grim, modest retelling that feels more like a solid community theater production than a groundbreaking film. It’s better than expected, but still nothing new.
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