Empire calls Ebenezer ‘thoroughly conventional’, but its ghosts earn their keep

Johnny Depp makes a compelling Scrooge in Ti West’s Ebenezer, according to Empire’s Helen O’Hara, though she finds the pacing ponderous and the finale short on joy. Deadline’s Pete Hammond is more enthusiastic, praising Depp’s performance and West’s horror touches. Both reviewers find the marketing’s promise of reinvention oversold: the ghosts get a workout, but Dickens’ story stays put.