Tim Burton's Dark Shadows

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Tim Burton is a busy man in 2012. He's prepping a full-length animated version of his 1984 short film Frankenweenie, set for release in the fall. He is also a co-producer of this summer's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. At the moment, though, he's primarily concerned with Dark Shadows, his first feature since 2010's Alice in Wonderland.

Dark Shadows stars Burton's long-time onscreen avatar Johnny Depp, and is based on the campy soap opera of the same name that ran on ABC from 1966-1971. The story centers around Barnabas Collins, a vampire (played by Depp) who awakens from a centuries-long entombment in a crypt in a small Maine fishing village circa 1972. Presumably, shenanigans then ensue as Depp attempts to adapt to his new surroundings.


The trailer premiered this past weekend, during March Madness, strangely enough. It has all the elements of a Burton flick, gothic-inspired set design, dim, natural lighting, dialogue oozing dark humor, elaborate costumes, Johnny Depp wearing lots of pale makeup and talking with a strange or vaguely British accent, and a pervading (but smirking) aura of death and gloom. Watch the trailer below, and have a look at an onset interview with Burton here.

The original Dark Shadows has a general reputation as a rather awful show, due to its's low budget, heavily melodramatic acting, and bizarre and inconsistent storylines. Like any show that operates outside of standard television conventions, it has developed a fanatical following over the years from a small group of devoted followers, who have bestowed the show with the coveted pop culture label of "cult classic". Like Star Trek another "fringe" show of that era, Dark Shadows has even spawned its own annual fan convention.  A number of episodes have been posted on YouTube. I have watched the first, which is probably also the last I'll watch. At least check out the introduction of Barnabas Collins below.