Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2012

For moviegoers, the mere mention of Tim Burton summons up frightful scenes of grimacing jack-o-lanterns, corpse brides and headless horsemen. Yet the director whose very name is synonymous with gothic imagery had never tackled a vampire movie. Nor, for that matter, had his frequent collaborator, Johnny Depp. That has all changed with Dark Shadows, a fresh, comedic take on the bloodsucking genre that the dark duo recently flew into Tokyo to promote.

Based on the cult TV show of the same name that ran from 1966-1971, Dark Shadows tells the century-spanning saga of Barnabas Collins (Depp), a wealthy playboy in 18th century New England who falls victim to a curse cast by a jealous witch (Eva Green). He awakens 200 years later to find himself in the year 1972, dismayed that everyone is driving VW buses, wearing polyester and gazing into lava lamps. As he struggles to adjust to the disco age, he must also come to terms that his beloved Collinwood Manor is a shambles, and that the dysfunctional family there (Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloë Grace Moretz, et al) are his descendants.

Barnabas was a late addition to the original television gothic soap opera, but quickly became the show’s breakaway character. Today, Burton and Depp both recall that Barnabas and the oddball family featured on the show provided solace during their awkward adolescent years. Depp admits he was “rather obsessed” with the TV vamp and decorated his childhood bedroom with posters of star Jonathan Frid, who passed away last month. During his visit to Tokyo, Depp said, “It was a dream come true to recreate the character.”

For director Burton, just as important as the central character is the way he interacts with the troubled Collins/Stoppard clan, which is rounded out on screen by Burton’s partner and frequent star Helena Bonham Carter as the family’s live-in psychiatrist, and Jackie Earl Haley as their boozing groundskeeper. At the Tokyo premiere, the director pulled a lucky Japanese fan’s question out of a box containing hundreds of submissions and found it asked what message he wanted to express through the film. He immediately blurted out, “Families are weird.” He then elaborated, “Families are weird and beautiful and that makes life weird and beautiful, and that’s why we love them.”

Dark Shadows marks the eightth film in Burton and Depp’s long partnership, which began with Edward Scissorhands in 1990. For Depp, the attraction of the role was not only the opportunity to recreate a favorite character from his childhood, but “to do so with my friend and my favorite filmmaker of all time.” The two appeared slightly overwhelmed by the sheer number of fans gathered at Roppongi Hills on a windy evening for the premiere, but chuckled with each other as they pointed out Japanese cosplayers in the crowd dressed as characters from the film, as well as a few Mad Hatters and Sweeney Todds. The pair were obviously delighted to be able to welcome so many visitors into the fantasy world they have created.

• Dark Shadows is currently on nationwide release
• Don Morton’s review