In Dark Shadows, Johnny Depp's 18th century vampire Barnabas Collins emerges from his coffin prison in 1972 and finds himself in a confusing world of lava lamps and hippies, where parties are successful if there's mirror balls, booze and an ugly woman named Alice Cooper. Talk about a fish out of water!

But this kooky film feels like the perfect match for Depp and director Tim Burton, who have revelled in oddball characters and gothic stylings since the 1990 classic Edward Scissorhands. DARK SHADOWS, their eighth collaboration, takes vampires, ghosts, witches and looming manors and plonks all of it in a sunny seaside town in the 70s called Collinsport.

Based on the TV soap opera of the same name, it stars Depp as Barnabas, who rejects the love of a seriously obsessive and unhinged witch, Angelique Brouchard (Eva Green), in the 1700s. Barnabas then learns the true meaning of "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned", as his loved ones are ripped from him, he's turned into a vampire and buried alive for two centuries.

Freed by some unfortunate humans in 1972, he finds Collinwood Manor - a place where Edward Scissorhands and Sweeney Todd would probably be at home - is in ruin and his relatives themselves are not much better off. Part melodrama, part comedy, part horror, there's no doubt Dark Shadows is in a weird territory and its quirkiness will not appeal to everyone, but it is good fun and has some great one-liners.

It helps that all this is accompanied by a rippingly good soundtrack, featuring everything from Elton John's Benny and the Jets, to T-Rex's Get it On, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper and disco.

It's always refreshing to watch films by someone like Burton, whose distinct style is enhanced here by the wonderful costumes by Colleen Atwood and production design by Rick Heinrich.

Gothic and kooky, the genre can feel a bit confused in DARK SHADOWS, but it's a fun offering from the eccentric minds of Burton and Depp. [EDITED]



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