Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Review (2007) – A Bloody, Bitter, Beautiful Ballad about grief, rage, and the Rot at the heart of society!
Spooky Season continues! And today we potatoes are diving straight into the dark with one of the most twisted musicals ever written: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007). This is not your standard Halloween romp. It’s not a slasher, not quite a gothic romance, not quite a straight musical either. It’s a grim fairy tale soaked in blood, grief, hilarity, and revenge! A razor-sharp fable about how cruelty and corruption eat us alive. Literally.
We potatoes were not ready for just how heavy this one still hits. Sure, it’s stylish, grim, and campy in places, but underneath the meat pies and murder ballads lives a story about trauma, systemic injustice, sexism, sexual assault, and what happens when rage consumes you whole. This is very important to be aware of before going into this film. But despite the darkness, this film is not just horror. It’s catharsis. It’s tragedy. And we love it!
Now, we will try to avoid major spoilers, but some are inevitable when talking about this tale, so please read with caution.
Gray, dark, dreary, and sinister…
We see a young man named Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower) singing joyfully about London as he gazes at the harbor before him. Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp), joins him in song, but his feelings on London… are different. Together, they are on a large, dark boat entering a foreboding, gray, and desolate harbor off of the Thames leading them to London.
Benjamin Barker holds no love for London, in fact he despises London, so why would he choose to return? “There’s a hole in the world like a great black pit, and the vermin of the world inhabit it…” he sings, and we potatoes feel the hate, despair, and rage in his song. We learn through his song that he was once a young barber with a beautiful wife and daughter, who was exiled by a corrupt judge, Judge Turpin, (Alan Rickman) so the man can steal his family for himself!
Judge Turpin’s cruelty goes far beyond legal corruption, it’s personal, predatory, and grotesque. He’s the embodiment of patriarchal power gone unchecked, using his position to exploit and destroy. His obsession with control is what sets the entire tragedy in motion, and the film doesn’t flinch from showing how systemic abuse of power, especially over women, fuels Benjamin’s fury and anguish.
Barker has decided to return years later as someone new… Sweeney Todd. His joy is gone. His kindness is gone. He has been carved hollow by grief and filled with nothing but hate. You can hear it in his song and see it etched on his face that emptiness of a man chewed up by the system, spat back out, and left with nothing but vengeance.
Once off the boat, Sweeney Todd has a specific destination in mind, Fleet Street. He wants to get back to his old Barber shop. This is where we meet Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), the eccentric, sly pie shop owner. “A customer!” She tries to feed him one of her incredibly rough looking meat pies, “Did you come here for a pie, sir?”
“The worst pies in London!” We love this song, and Helena is absolutely fantastic in this role!
She recognizes Barker! His old barber shop used to be above her restaurant. She proceeds to tell him what happened to his wife and daughter after he was arrested… it truly is awful. We will not say more, as to not give too much away, but it is truly tragic what happens to Benjamin’s wife. Moving forward though!
Mrs. Lovett opens up his old shop for him, and shows him where she hid away his famous razors made of pure silver. She could have sold them… but she didn’t.
Her business is failing, her pies are inedible, selling the razors would have vastly helped and yet she chose to keep them. We potatoes consider that a bit of a red flag, her behavior towards Todd is reading like an obsessive infatuation. But we digress!
She kept them safe for him, which is odd, but Sweeney Todd is too enamored with his razors. Singing directly to his razors, as Mrs. Lovett sings about her feelings for him. He does not hear a word she says.
“You’ll soon drip precious… rubies.”
We’re going to start wrapping up from here and massively abbreviating, there’s just too much content in this wonderful film! Now that he has been reunited with his blades, he is overly eager for his revenge! Anthony has his own side story, but we will not be delving into that here for many reasons… one of them being that we do not like it very much! He gives us creepy vibes. “Buried sweetly in your yellow hair… I’ll steal you”… ICK. It does not sit well with us potatoes. Admittedly, this film is essentially entirely creepy and unhinged people… But we digress!
Mrs. Lovett convinces Sweeney Todd to slow down, to wait and to try to come up with a plan. But he is impatient, and filled with bloodlust. Sweeney Todd ends up making his first kill… but it is not Judge Turpin. It is Mr. Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen), a fellow barber who sells snake oil hair products, and also recognizes Sweeney Todd… as Benjamin Barker!
Things escalate… and Mr. Pirelli ends up deceased. Mrs. Lovett does not bat an eye at Mr. Pirelli’s dead body. She picks his pockets, and even decides to keep his assistant, a little boy named Toby (Ed Sanders) for herself.
Suddenly… Judge Turpin is at his door!
Thrilled, Sweeney Todd eagerly but gently guides Judge Turpin into his chair. He has him! Or does he?
And then it happens, his breaking point. Sweeney finally gets Judge Turpin into his chair, razor in hand, vengeance within reach… and he loses it. Not his mind exactly, that’s already been fraying, but his chance! The Judge escapes, his revenge slips away again, and something inside Sweeney Todd snaps clean in two.
“They all deserve to die!” He sings, his voice climbing with fury and despair. It’s not just the Judge anymore. It’s everyone. The city. The world. His razors gleam as he raises them to the heavens, declaring his love to them like twisted lovers reunited. It’s one of the most haunting sequences in the film, operatic, deranged, and strangely beautiful. We potatoes felt it in our bones. This isn’t just murder. It’s a man screaming into the void of injustice, grief, and loss until the void finally screams back.
Todd, filled with rage and unable to kill who he wishes to, is open to anything! “Business needs a lift…” So, together, he and Mrs. Lovett hatch a grim solution for them both: his razors and her ovens, working hand in hand. “It’s man devouring man, my dear and who are we to deny it in here?” He provides the meat. She provides the pastry. Suddenly, business is booming!
It sounds absurd, almost cartoonish and yes, there is a wicked humor here… but it’s not just a joke. Every slice, every pie, every song is dripping with grief, cruelty, and despair. This is capitalism at its darkest extreme: people literally feeding on each other to survive.
The performances are haunting. Depp’s Sweeney is not just murderous, he’s broken, numb, consumed by obsession. He doesn’t play it broad, he plays it hollow, and that makes it terrifying. Helena Bonham Carter’s Mrs. Lovett is sly, pitiful, and funny, but there’s tragedy behind her scheming eyes, her love for Sweeney is unrequited, desperate, toxic and delusional. Together, they form a pair as twisted and unhinged as only they can be.
And then there’s Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall, embodying corruption with oozing precision. Alan Rickman’s performance as Judge Turpin is excellent, creepy, spine-chilling, and grotesque all at the same time. Jayne Wisener as Johanna brings a fragile hope, a little light that threatens to break through the night, though it never quite endures. And Sacha Baron Cohen’s Pirelli?! Utterly ridiculous, silly, and dark!
But, we potatoes know we have to cut deeper (pun intended). Sweeney Todd isn’t just about a barber killing people. It’s about trauma metastasizing into rage. It’s about how grief can consume us until nothing human remains. Sweeney doesn’t just want revenge against Judge Turpin, he begins to hate the whole world. The city itself. Everyone who ever looked away, who let it happen. His razors aren’t just weapons, they’re symbols of his fury against a system designed to crush the vulnerable and reward the cruel. It’s a brutal look at what happens when pain goes untreated, when grief festers in silence. When the world gives you no space to heal, and the darkness finds its own way out.
We potatoes can relate deeply to that kind of rage and grief. The kind that devours you from the inside out. While we don’t condone violence, we do understand the depth of his despair. We’ve all experienced loss, but Sweeney Todd didn’t just lose his family. He lost his life. He lost himself. There’s a grief that’s hard to describe when you not only lose the people you love, but the version of you that existed with them. The journey back to yourself after that kind of pain is long, messy, and unbearably lonely.
We potatoes encourage anyone who can to give therapy a try, not because it fixes everything, but because none of us should have to carry this kind of pain alone. With the world the way it is, we’re all carrying trauma, and we all deserve support. If it’s something available to you, we potatoes couldn’t recommend it more. Healing shouldn’t be a luxury.
We potatoes couldn’t help but connect this to the world today. Corruption, greed, authoritarian systems, and cycles of abuse don’t just disappear, they fester. They leave people hollow, furious, and hopeless. And like Sweeney, many are left feeling that justice is impossible, that vengeance is the only path left. It’s not a healthy response. It’s not a hopeful one. But it is an honest reflection of what systemic cruelty does to people.
The same forces that destroyed Sweeney’s family, unchecked power, patriarchal control, and institutional corruption, are still alive and thriving today. We see it in governments that exploit the vulnerable, in corporations that feed on desperation, and in the everyday silencing of victims who dare to speak out. This story may be set in Victorian London, but its rot feels painfully modern. The faces have changed, but the systems haven’t.
And lastly, there’s Mrs. Lovett. Oh dear, she is a bit of a mess herself isn’t she? She’s pragmatic, opportunistic, but also tragically human. She “loves” Sweeney, but she also loves survival. She feeds off his fury as much as he feeds off her schemes. Their partnership is grim, hilarious, and deeply sad, two broken people clinging to each other, and destroying each other in the process.
Visually, this film is unforgettable! The world is drenched in shadows, sickly greens, and blood reds. London itself looks diseased, dripping with soot and rot. And then when the blood flows… it sprays vivid and bright, theatrical and shocking, like stage paint splattering across the screen! We potatoes love how extra it is!! It’s grotesque, yes, but also beautiful in its stylization.
And the music… We potatoes ADORE the music! Stephen Sondheim’s score is relentless, bleak, and breathtaking. These aren’t your typical cheery musical numbers. They’re dirges, bitter ballads, and angry anthems! The lyrics cut sharper than any razor. From “Epiphany” to “A Little Priest,” each song blends dark comedy with gut-wrenching grief. You’ll laugh, then wince, then feel your stomach drop, all in the same verse.
So is Sweeney Todd perfect? No. Some of the vocals are thin, the pacing sometimes falters, and its relentless bleakness might overwhelm those not ready for it. But that’s also the point. This isn’t a feel-good musical. It’s a tragedy. A warning. A hysterical howl of pain and wrath set to music.
We potatoes love this film not because it’s comforting, but because it dares to be unflinchingly dark. It asks us to look at what grief and injustice can turn us into. It shows us the cost of living in a world where the powerful devour the powerless. And it reminds us that when love and kindness are stripped away, what’s left can be horrifying.
And yet, that horror doesn’t just live on screen. It’s also an honest reflection of how so many are feeling right now. These so-called “riots” splashed across the news are not chaos born of the people… they’re manipulations, escalations, and distractions orchestrated by a government that fears its citizens more than it serves them. The violence isn’t coming from those protesting for their rights; it’s coming from those desperate to maintain control.
And while it’s tempting to give in to rage, to become what they expect us to be, we potatoes say this: don’t. They want that. Let us continue to disappoint them. Let us keep sharing truth, standing together, and protesting this regime not with vengeance, but with persistence. It feels hopeless, but it isn’t. We are getting under their skin. We are the thorn they can’t pull out, and we are only digging deeper.
So! If you haven’t seen Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in a while or if you’ve never dared to walk into his barbershop at all, consider this your invitation! It’s gothic. It’s bloody. It’s tragic. And it’s one of the most hilariously and grotesquely haunting musicals ever put on screen!
Cheers to Depp and Carter for their unforgettable performances! Cheers to Alan Rickman for his amazing performance and career. We miss him greatly. Cheers to this dark fairytale that cuts to the bone. And most importantly, cheers to you! May we never let grief and rage consume us the way they consumed Sweeney Todd. May we resist the systems that profit off our suffering. And may we always, always find reasons to sing, even in the dark!
So polish your razors, preheat your ovens, and meet us on Fleet Street, where the pies are questionable, but the music is divine!
We give this film 5 out of 5 Bloody Marys!
The Sweeney Todd Drinking Game
Take a sip anytime:
1. Anyone sings (1 sip per main character per song)
2. Anyone dies or blood on screen
3. Anyone says “Meat Pie” or “pie”
4. Anyone says “Misses Lovett “
5. Anyone says “Benjamin Barker”
6. Anyone says “Sweeney Todd” or “Todd”
7. Anyone says “Judge Turpin” or “Turpin”
8. Anyone says “London”
9. Anyone says “Beadle”
10. Shaving/razors on screen
What did you think? Did you like the movie? Did you hate it? What movies should we watch? Any and all thoughts are welcome! Let us know in the comments!
Do you like this drinking game? Are there rules missing? Is the game too intense? Are there movies that you think we should make a drinking game for? Let us know in the comments and always remember to be safe and drink responsibly! (Drinks can be water, soda, anything nonalcoholic, etc. Please be safe, have fun and take care of you!)