‘Ebenezer’ Review: Johnny Depp Blissfully Goes All Scrooge In Ti West’s New Horror-Flavored Take On Dickens Christmas Classic

There have been countless iterations on the Charles Dickens yuletide classic, “A Christmas Carol” which was first birthed to the world as a novella in 1843, but has been a favorite of Hollywood for nearly a century. Actors have warmed to the bah humbug of it all in various takes beginning with Reginald Owen in 1938’s A Christmas Carol to perhaps still the best, Alastair Sim in the 1951 version. George C. Scott and Patrick Stewart did well-regarded TV movies. Bill Murray did a contemporary comedic version with Scrogged. Albert Finney turned it all into a big screen musical in 1970. Even Kermit and Miss Piggy jumped on board with The Muppet Christmas Carol, and no less than Mr. Magoo in the evergreen (and personal favorite) Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol. In 2017 Christopher Plummer even took a whirl with Scrooge in the clever and wonderful biopic, The Man Who Invented Christmas which was all about Dickens writing the time honored tale.

It seems inevitable though that modern day master of all disguises, Johnny Depp would get a turn at bat, and in the latest version, Ebenezer, he has done just that. To say it is a perfect fit for Depp would be an understatement as he finds his own unique way into the role, but in a bit of a twist manages to unearth more humanity in Ebenezer Scrooge than previous versions that saved all that for the inevitable happy ending. Here, insufferable as he can be, this Scrooge allows us to have more empathy for the man as his own past is revealed as the source of his discontent. The other wrinkle with this version is brought by its director, Ti West, previously known as a horrormeister with the trilogy of X, Pearl, and MaXXXine, but it turns out he is a lifelong fan of the Dickens tale and found it ripe for more emphasis on its horror aspects built in with the infamous ghosts so crucial to the story. After all, the original title of the novella was “A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being A Ghost Story At Christmas”. Paramount’s campaign for the movie also leans into this with the ad line: “If You Think You Know His Story, Think Again”. Fear not though, we do know the story and this is still all very PG13 and not as bloodletting as the filmmaker’s past filmography. West , and his screenwriter Nathaniel Halpern, have too much reverance for what Dickens hath wrought to mess around with the bones of the tale we know all too well. Paramount’s marketing department wants us to believe this is all new but it really isn’t for the most part, just an excuse for Depp to play in the sandbox.

Ebenezer, with fine period production design by Eve Stewart and darkly lit cinematography from Checco Varese, perfectly sets the tone as we meet Ebenezer Scrooge and his even more greedy business partner Jacob Marley ( an ideal Ian McKellen), just before Marley succumbs to a heart attack. It is Christmas Eve and neither owner was all too swell to loyal but beaten-down employee Bob Cratchit (an effective Rupert Grint) who is anxious to spend time with his family including wife Clara (Daisy Ridley) and young son Tiny Tim (Freddie Lee Grey). There is also a visit from Christmas-loving nephew Fred (Sam Claflin) who can’t understand his uncle’s disdain for the holiday and what it really means.

As Scrooge retires for the night, the fireworks begin, first with a view from down under from the late not-so-great Marley with a foreboding warning. Then we have a visit from the Ghost Of Christmas Past (a spirited Andrea Riseborough) who takes him back (Arthur Conti is the younger Ebenezer) to his roots growing up, to his own family life, and most notably to his one and only true love Belle (Ellie Bamber) in a relationship doomed to failure as his early inclination for money over love seems to take hold. Here we see the human being, flawed but recognizable, taking his first wrong turn. Cue the Ghost Of Christmas Present (a dynamic turn from Severance Emmy winner Tramell Tillman) who really turns on the gas to show Scrooge a miserable world, including for the Cratchit clan involving death and despair. West finds his deepest dive into the tropes of horror with this sequence, about as dark as any version of A Christmas Carol can get. And then it gets even darker with the Ghost Of Christmas Future (creature actor Robert Strange) who is so imposing he needs to say nothing, just show what will become of Ebenezer – and it is not pretty.

It is no spoiler to reveal how it all works out and Depp clearly is having a blast playing it to the hilt. Fortunately the audience will walk out with their Christmas spirit (if not the spirits) intact.

I am not sure the world needed yet another dance with Dickens and Scrooge. As mentioned at the top of this review there is plenty to savor from the cinema of Christmases Past that hold up quite nicely to revisit year after year after year, but I have to say it is satisfying to see Depp give it a go. After a very rough patch in his life and career, just like Ebenezer Scrooge, this gifted actor is seeing the light again.

Producer is Emma Watts.

Title: Ebenezer

Distributor: Paramount

Release Date: November 13, 2026

Director: Ti West

Screenplay: Nathaniel Halpern

Cast: Johnny Depp, Rupert Grint, Daisy Ridley, Andrea Riseborough, Sam Claflin, Ian McKellen, Tramell Tillman, Robert Strange, Ellie Bamber, Arthur Conti, Freddie Lee Grey