In 1846, Benjamin Barker, a barber, arrives in London, accompanied by sailor Anthony Hope. Fifteen years earlier, he was falsely convicted and exiled by the corrupt Judge Turpin, who lusted after Barker's wife Lucy. Barker adopts the alias "Sweeney Todd" and returns to his old Fleet Street shop, situated above Mrs. Nellie Lovett's meat pie shop, where she sells the "worst pies in London". Lovett tells him that Turpin raped Lucy, who then poisoned herself with arsenic. The couple's daughter, Johanna, is now Turpin's ward. Todd vows revenge, and re-opens his barber shop after Mrs. Lovett, who loves him unrequitedly, presents him with his old straight razors. Anthony becomes enamored with Johanna, but is caught by Turpin and driven away by his henchman, Beadle Bamford.
Todd denounces faux-Italian barber Adolfo Pirelli's
hair tonic as a fraud and humiliates him in a public shaving contest. A
few days later, Pirelli arrives at Todd's shop, with his boy assistant Tobias Ragg.
Pirelli identifies himself as Todd's former assistant, Davy Collins,
and threatens to reveal Todd's secret unless Todd gives him half his
earnings. Todd kills Collins, and hides his body in a trunk.
After receiving advice from Bamford, Turpin visits Todd for grooming,
intent on marrying Johanna. Todd shaves Turpin, preparing to slit his
throat; they are interrupted by Anthony, who reveals his plan to elope
with Johanna before noticing Turpin. An angered Turpin renounces Todd's
service and leaves. Todd swears revenge on the entire world, vowing to
kill as many people as he can while he waits for another chance to kill
Turpin. Mrs. Lovett gets the idea to bake Todd's victims into pies.
Anthony searches for Johanna, whom Turpin has sent to an insane asylum upon discovering her plans to elope with Anthony.
The barbering and pie-making businesses prosper, and Mrs. Lovett
takes Toby as her assistant. She tells an uninterested Todd of her plans
to marry him and move to the seaside. Anthony discovers Johanna's
whereabouts and, following Todd's suggestion, poses as a wigmaker's
apprentice to rescue her. Todd has Toby deliver a letter to Turpin,
telling him where Johanna will be brought when Anthony frees her. Toby
has become wary of Todd and tells Mrs. Lovett of his suspicions, vowing
to protect her.
Bamford arrives at the pie shop, informing Mrs. Lovett that neighbors
have been complaining of the stink from her chimney. Todd distracts him
with an offer of a free grooming and murders him. Mrs. Lovett informs
Todd of Toby's suspicions, and the pair search for the boy, who hid in
the sewers after finding human remains in Mrs Lovett's bakehouse.
Meanwhile, Anthony brings Johanna, disguised as a sailor, to the shop,
and has her wait there while he leaves to find a coach.
A beggar woman enters the shop in search of Bamford, and Johanna
hides in the trunk. The woman recognizes Todd, but upon hearing Turpin
coming, Todd kills her and sends her through a trapdoor in the floor. As
Turpin enters, Todd explains that Johanna had repented and is coming to
him, then offers a free shave in the meantime. When Turpin finally
recognizes Todd as Benjamin Barker, Todd stabs him several times, cuts
his throat and sends his body down a trap door to the bakehouse, killing
him. Johanna comes out of her hiding place, still in disguise, and Todd
prepares to kill her as well, not recognizing her as his daughter.
However, hearing Mrs. Lovett scream in horror in the basement after
discovering Turpin's body, Todd lets Johanna go.
Todd discovers that the beggar woman was his wife Lucy, whom he
believed to be dead, and that Mrs. Lovett deliberately misled him so she
could have him to herself. Todd pretends to forgive her and dances with
her before hurling her into the bakehouse oven, then cradles Lucy's
dead body in his arms. Toby appears, enraged at Mrs. Lovett's death, and
Todd allows Toby to slit his throat with his own razor. Toby leaves as
Todd bleeds to death over his dead wife.
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