The film opens in 1936 with a barber recounting the legend of Sweeney Todd Tod Slaughter. In a vivid flashback to 1836, Todd is a London barber operating in a bustling dockside district. Nearby, Johanna Oakley [Eve Lister] is in love with Mark Ingerstreet [Bruce Seton], a young man whose prospects seem limited because he is penniless and must win the approval of Johanna’s father, Governor Oakley [D. J. Williams]. Meanwhile, Johanna’s servant Nan [Davina Whitehouse] asks Mark’s fellow sailor Pearley [Jerry Verno] to bring her luxury goods, though Pearley reminds her that he lacks the funds to supply them. All around, Todd surveys the potential customers with a calculating eye, weighing how much money he might harvest from their visits.
In the barbershop, a new apprentice arrives: Tobias Ragg [John Singer], an orphan whom Todd takes under his wing. Next door sits a meat pie shop run by Mrs. Lovatt [Stella Rho], whose cellar connects to Todd’s own domain. The two neighbors form a grim, if uneasy, partnership: Todd lures wealthy dockside patrons into his shop, where he seats them in a “special” barber chair. Before each shave, Tobias is sent to Mrs. Lovatt’s for a meat pie, while Todd, with a swift lever, flips the chair and dumps the victim into the basement. Mrs. Lovatt disposes of the bodies, skimming a share of the stolen money, though she grows increasingly uneasy as Todd’s theft and control creep beyond her expectations.
The Golden Hope sails back into port, bringing Mark in as a newly wealthy man. Todd, ever the schemer, lures him into the shop and flirts with the idea of his betrothal to Johanna. Mark, eager to prove his worth, flaunts his riches and his love, only to fall into Todd’s trap when the chair is activated. Yet in a clever twist, Mrs. Lovatt hides Mark in a cupboard, and Todd discovers the body vanished after his dramatic entrance. Convinced that Mark’s fortune is gone and that his rival’s status is ruined, Todd remains untroubled—until Mark, now resolved to expose him, returns in disguise.
Disguised Mark sends Tobias to tell Johanna where he is, and Todd fails to recognize his former quarry. Just as Todd prepares to shave a fresh customer, Pearley slips into Mrs. Lovatt’s cellar to witness the growing crack in their alliance. Todd flips the chair again, but this time Mark wrenches his fate: he holds on, and Pearley helps him escape with Johanna through the same hidden route Mark originally used. Enraged by another near miss, Todd accuses Mrs. Lovatt of letting Mark go, and she admits she already let him slip away once before. The barbershop becomes a fortress of fear as Todd prepares to flee, gathering his plunder into the basement—hay, furniture, and all the stolen goods he can muster.
Johanna arrives, worried for Mark’s safety and the danger posed by Todd. Todd knocks her unconscious and traps her in a closet, then sets the building ablaze and slips away into the night. Nan rushes to warn Mark and Pearley that Johanna is inside the burning shop, and the crowd gathers as the blaze roars. In a frantic rescue, Mark enters to save Johanna, and Todd pursues, intent on ending their resistance with a final, brutal strike. Mark fights back, slamming Todd to the ground and carrying Johanna to safety as the blaze rages around them. Outside, the crowd gasps at the sight of the now-empty bag of riches left behind in the alley.
Momentarily regaining consciousness, Todd staggers toward escape, only to be plunged by the very chair he engineered into the fiery cellar. Returning to 1936, the terrified barber’s customer stumbles from the shop, still wearing a full face of shaving cream as the story’s legend comes full circle. The tale closes with the sense that greed and violence have exacted their price, and the cycle of terror ends where it began, on a quiet London street that once welcomed a barber with big dreams and an appetite for power.
