In nineteenth century London, Sweeney Todd, an unjustly exiled barber, returns home after fifteen years imprisoned in an Australian penal colony. He seeks vengeance against a lecherous judge and his spineless beadle who framed him. Helped in his escape by a virtuous but naive sailor, Anthony Hope, Sweeney plans to reunite with his wife Lucy and daughter Johanna. However, he soon reunites with Mrs. Lovett, whose failing pie shop is in the building where his barbershop used to be. She tells Sweeney that the judge raped Lucy, who consequently took her own life, and took Johanna in as his ward.
Sweeney’s road to revenge leads him to re-open his barbershop in its old location where he attempts to kill the judge. His attack fails and he goes mad, vowing revenge on not only the judge but all mankind. Mrs. Lovett, enamored with Sweeney, comes up with an idea to help dispose of the bodies by baking them into her meat pies. Her business starts to boom, but Sweeney’s thirst for blood and her inability to keep up with the demand lead to heartbreak, blackmail, and carnage beyond their comprehension.
