Source: Apple | Posted By: Dan Geer
After hearing about the film for quite a while now, and seeing various images pop up online, Apple has finally debuted the first trailer for director Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows a mere two and a half months before the film’s release on May 11th. The film, based on the hit gothic horror soap opera that aired from 1966-1971, stars Johnny Depp (who else?) as the vampire Barnabas Collins, originally played by actor Johnathan Frid in the TV series.
The original show featured werewolves, ghosts, witches, warlocks, zombies, and other supernatural elements, which helped it gain quite the cult following over the years. Judging from the trailer for Tim Burton’s feature film adaptation, Burton seems to be going for more of a comedic tone, which is somewhat odd because the original TV series, while campy by today’s standards, certainly wasn’t considered a comedy. Hit the jump to watch the trailer and see what you think.
Official Plot Synopsis:
In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet–or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy…until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), to help with her family troubles. Also residing in the manor is Elizabeth’s ne’er-do-well brother, Roger Collins, (Jonny Lee Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloe Moretz); and Roger’s precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath). The mystery extends beyond the family, to caretaker Willie Loomis, played by Jackie Earle Haley, and David’s new nanny, Victoria Winters, played by Bella Heathcote.
Head on over to Apple to watch in HD!
Not sure how I feel about this one. It isn’t because Tim Burton has once again chosen Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter to be in his film, because if they’re good, they’re good (although Tim Burton could use a few more non-Depp films on his resume). Not only that, but the film has quite the stellar cast overall. However, converting the Dark Shadows property into a comedy seems rather weird. Perhaps Burton is attempting to harken back to the glory days of Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and Mars Attacks!? I love the look of the film, but I’m just not sure if comedy is the way to go. Of course, we won’t know until we actually see the finished product.
Dark Shadows, directed by Tim Burton, stars Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jonny Lee Miller, Helena Bonham Carter, Christopher Lee, Chloë Grace Moretz, Gulliver McGrath, Jackie Earle Haley and Bella Heathcote. The film hits theaters May 11th nationwide!
