There may well be an element of animosity that arises almost instinctively against yet another version of A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens’s classic and much-beloved tale, which has been adapted for film and television so many times that one can only pity anyone who might hypothetically take on the task of becoming a completist. And this disdain for Ebenezer won’t depend solely on the familiarity and predictability that any new adaptation of the story inspires at this point, but also on the inevitable discussions that come with this particular case: the obvious attempt to make it serve almost exclusively as a showcase for Johnny Depp.

This hard-launch comeback to Hollywood follows that infamous trial that caused him to fall from grace for a few years, along with reports of reprehensible on-set behavior that went unchecked for years. Even if we make an effort to ignore all those things and focus exclusively on the movie, unfortunately there’s not much here worth recommending as a reason to buy a ticket and sit through something lacking a unique image or idea during its nearly two-hour running time.

Well, perhaps I’m being a little unfair. There is a really good opening shot in Ebenezer: The Paramount logo dissolves into a translucent image in which the mountain is replaced by the tip of an unlit lighthouse covered in snow. An omen of just how cold and off-putting the recent Paramount/Skydance merger could prove for the future? Who knows? But Ti West’s vision soon runs dry.

Although a version by this director may suggest a uniquely auteurist twist on Dickens’s Christmas tale, West ends up delivering a washed-out amalgam of all the most faithful-to-the-canon versions you’ve seen before. The American filmmaker returns after what may well be the most exciting chapter of his career: the X horror trilogy (X, Pearl, and MaXXXine, all compelling to varying degrees). Surely, the expectation is a version of Scrooge’s nightmare nights that doubles down on the gothic horror elements already present in the original story and in many other adaptations, or perhaps something more violent or cruel than anything explored so far. Well, at least families can breathe a sigh of relief, since they’ll be able to watch yet another harmless version suitable for all ages. But then again, they could simply put on the reliable musical Scrooge, starring Albert Finney; the always entertaining and highly stylized modern retelling Scrooged, starring Bill Murray; or the undeniable for-everyone Muppets version, The Muppet Christmas Carol, starring Michael Caine. They can certainly steer clear of the awful-looking motion-capture version conceived by Robert Zemeckis, featuring a nightmarish Jim Carrey.

You can see what the problem is, right? There are already too many versions of the story about the miserly, curmudgeonly hater of Christmas who is visited by ghosts in one last attempt to save his soul from damnation, provided he can repent in time for Christmas. Of course, it all comes down to who plays Scrooge. Certainly, there could be worse choices than Depp today, an actor who spent many years building his star persona around eccentric characters, hyper-histrionic antics, and plenty of transformative heavy lifting from the makeup and costume departments.

The great surprise, in any case, is that the actor looks recognizable enough while also bringing sufficient pathos to Scrooge’s classic journey toward redemption, perhaps more understated than one might expect from the Depp brand. And there’s an inevitable metaphorical wink here at a nearly has-been actor who seems to share Scrooge’s plea to win back the audience’s sympathy: “I’m good… I can change.” Even so, West and the entire creative team involved in building this world, which combines the real with the supernatural, seem intent on trapping the performer inside the kind of Burtonian snow globe in which he once shone like no one else, but which now feels tired and terribly unoriginal.

Is it even worth describing the plot, the scenes, the rest of the characters? Sure, the cast is stacked, from Ian McKellen and Andrea Riseborough to Rupert Grint and Daisy Ridley, and the craft is competent and effective, but Nathaniel Halpern’s script doesn’t give West much to work with to turn what feels like a dull assignment into something else. By the ninth time Ebenezer says the word “humbug,” you’ll probably be heading into your third yawn. For those curious about West’s involvement: Any horror element is already contained in the original story—the Ghost of Christmas Present harbors two starving children within him; it doesn’t get more macabre than that—and it’s not particularly scary. I can even recall similar visual cues from the Hallmark television version starring Patrick Stewart, which I saw as a kid and still have a soft spot for.

Maybe Ebenezer will become another kid’s favorite version tomorrow, because this is a perfectly mature story for children to grapple with philosophical concepts for the very first time: the meaning of life, the fear of death, human virtue and flaws, punishment and redemption. And maybe there’s now a generational nostalgia market for a Depp comeback. But be warned: This is still an uninteresting and lifeless enterprise, borrowing from an already established legacy without leaving any lasting mark of its own. There are plenty of better things to choose from, past and present, as a comfort watch this or any Christmas yet to come.