MOVIE NEWS – Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol has been adapted countless times, but Ti West (X, Pearl, MaXXXine) felt that one thing was repeatedly missing from its film versions: truly frightening ghosts, even though these are the beings that drive the plot forward. Coming from the world of auteur horror, the director therefore explores the supernatural side of the classic story in depth in his new adaptation, Ebenezer. Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pirates of the Caribbean) returns as Scrooge—quite literally returning after several years away.

According to publisher Penguin Books, Dickens’s classic has inspired roughly 400 screen adaptations, 45 of which faithfully follow the original work. Its enduring popularity may come from the fact that this is a great redemption story: a wicked man is visited by ghosts at Christmas and guided toward a better path.

West has loved Dickens’s 1843 novella since childhood, and even when he was young he saw it more as a ghost story than a Christmas tale. Depp has also long been a fan, and the director says he proved to be the perfect choice for the miserly, embittered moneylender. West particularly believes that the actor has an excellent feel for the distinctive rhythm of Dickens’s old-fashioned dialogue. Depp’s Scrooge is not simply grumpy and unlikable either: his humor and elusive charm may occasionally make viewers catch themselves agreeing with him. West and screenwriter Nathaniel Halpern wanted to move away from the simplistic idea that Scrooge is evil to the core while everyone around him is spotless.

The cast includes more major names. Surprisingly, over a seven-decade career, two-time Oscar nominee Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings, X-Men) has never appeared in any of those 400 A Christmas Carol adaptations. He now plays one of the ghosts, Jacob Marley. West calls his Marley “a real bastard,” yet McKellen still manages to make him a lovable and tragic figure. This time, moreover, we will not see him only as a ghost: the film also meets Marley while he is still alive.

Emmy-winning Severance star Tramell Tillman plays the Ghost of Christmas Present as an unusually impatient figure who wants to finish reforming Scrooge as quickly as possible. Rupert Grint (the Harry Potter films) becomes one of the story’s emotional anchors: Bob Cratchit is an overworked, underpaid father who would love to quit but must endure his employer for the sake of his children.

West stresses that Ebenezer is not trying to turn Dickens’s story upside down. It remains faithful to the original while approaching it from a slightly darker, certainly more haunting and emotionally nuanced perspective. According to the director, several scenes even moved test-screening audiences to tears.

(Ebenezer – Hungarian theatrical release: November 12, 2026.)

Source: UIP Dunafilm