Is Ebenezer Worth Watching? A Gothic Christmas Carol With a Divisive Scrooge

So, is Ebenezer worth watching? The short answer is yes — if you want your Christmas ghost story to actually be a ghost story. Ti West’s gothic take on Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol opened in UK and US cinemas on Friday 13 November 2026, with Johnny Depp as Scrooge, and the first reviews agree on the look, the scares and the atmosphere (Fortress of Solitude). They split, sharply, on the man in the nightcap.

The film runs 116 minutes and is rated PG-13 in the US and 12A in the UK — a rating Radio Times reads as a signal that this “isn’t wholesomely festive fun for all the family” (Fortress of Solitude; Radio Times).

The Ebenezer review Johnny Depp question: monster or miscast?

Depp’s Scrooge is the whole argument. This is his first major studio film since Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald in 2018, and his first major Hollywood outing in several years (Fortress of Solitude; Radio Times).

But Why Tho, which scored the film 9 out of 10, argues Depp “runs a clinic in comedic timing” under heavy prosthetics and grows gradually into the redemption, much as Scrooge does in the novella (But Why Tho). Fortress of Solitude praises a portrayal balancing “deep cynicism and dry humor” rather than a merely grumpy old man (Fortress of Solitude).

Radio Times, awarding 3 out of 5, lands on the opposite side: Depp is “the unfortunate weak link,” a scowling performance “perilously close to pantomime” that keeps reminding you that you are watching Johnny Depp (Radio Times). Absolute Geeks, at 3.8 out of 5, splits the difference — magnetic as “a hunched, spiteful creature” in the first half, but the softening “feels more like a costume change than an earned emotional shift” (Absolute Geeks).

How scary is Ti West’s A Christmas Carol film?

West directed X, Pearl and MaXXXine, and he has not left the horror toolkit at home. Absolute Geeks notes he reads the 1843 novella “as what it actually is: a haunting,” and builds dread through atmosphere, production design and sound rather than cheap jump scares (Absolute Geeks). Fortress of Solitude credits him with ominous dread and jump scares inside the PG-13 limits, over a gothic score by Tyler Bates (Fortress of Solitude).

The spirits do the frightening. Andrea Riseborough’s Ghost of Christmas Past — glowing white, pupilless-eyed, speaking in an unsettling monotone — is singled out by Radio Times as “almost scary enough to raise the film’s 12A to a 15” (Radio Times). Tramell Tillman’s Ghost of Christmas Present is a rage-filled, blemish-faced figure in Radio Times’s account, and an irritated, sarcastic standout for Absolute Geeks (Radio Times; Absolute Geeks).

One structural change earns praise from several reviewers: a prologue set before Jacob Marley’s death, which is not in Dickens. Absolute Geeks calls it a reframing that shows Scrooge shaped by “an even nastier mentor,” with cruelty learned and passed down the line of ledger-keepers (Absolute Geeks).

What lets it down

The complaints cluster in the same places. Radio Times calls the film “visually stunning” — cinematographer Checco Varese and production designer Eve Stewart build a decaying London that could contend come awards season — but finds the drama around Depp mostly standard fare, with Rupert Grint’s Bob Cratchit and Daisy Ridley’s Clara given little to do (Radio Times). But Why Tho also names the supporting cast as the weak spot, calling Grint underwhelming and Fred and Clara less developed than the ghosts (But Why Tho). Absolute Geeks flags pacing that sags in the middle stretch, where the story ticks off beats every viewer already knows (Absolute Geeks).

Is Ebenezer worth watching? Who should book a ticket

Go if you like gothic period pieces, West’s horror work, or the idea of Dickens played as a haunting — on that, the glowing and the grumbling reviews agree. Skip it, or wait, if your Christmas Carol needs warmth first: Absolute Geeks points viewers who want the sing-along version back to the Muppets and Alastair Sim (Absolute Geeks). And keep younger children in mind — the spirits here are scarier than family versions dare to be, a point Absolute Geeks makes by calling the film “more Crimson Peak with tinsel than The Polar Express” (Absolute Geeks).

Our call: worth a cinema trip. Not the definitive Christmas Carol, and Depp’s redemption may not move you — but as the year’s first big festive release, Ebenezer has a visual identity none of its cosier rivals will match.

Photo: Peter Evans, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Sources

1. https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/ebenezer-johnny-depp-review/
2. https://butwhytho.net/2026/11/ebenezer-review/
3. https://www.fortressofsolitude.co.za/ebenezer-movie-review-johnny-depp-ti-west-2026/
4. https://www.absolutegeeks.com/reviews/ebenezer-review-johnny-depp-is-a-brilliant-monster-but-a-so-so-saint/