The trailer for Johnny Depp and Tim Burton's latest project 'Dark Shadows' hit the web on Thursday (15 March 2012), surprising some fans who had expected a melancholy gothic tale about bloodsucker Barnabas Collins. What they got instead was a slick two-and-a-half minute promo featuring1970's disco music and plenty of humor.

The movie, based on the supernatural soap opera of the same name, follows vampire Barnabas (Depp) as he is freed from his tomb into the year 1972. Burton appears to have focused Dark Shadows around his protagonist's struggle to fit in with the technological and social advances of the time - in one scene he rips out the back of a television set and yells at "Reveal yourself tiny songstress!", as a pop singer dances on the screen. His 'present day' relatives are played by Michelle Pfeiffer, Jonny Lee Miller, Chloe Moretz and Helena Bonham Carter who uncomfortably attempt to teach him about contemporary living. The trailer appears to suggest Eva Green's character will be the love interest, though Barnabas seems almost oblivious to her romantic advances. In a surreal scene, Depp's character is seen walking into a throbbing disco as T Rex's hit 'Bang a Gong (Get it On) plays in the background. Barry White's 'You're the First, the Last, My Everything' is also featured as Barnabas finally gives in to Angelique.

Those who assumed Burton would be using the original material to craft a gloomy gothic horror may be disappointed, though Dark Shadows looks likely to satisfy fans of the director's twisted humor. In the trailer's final scene, Moretz's character asks Barnabas "Are you stoned or something?" to which the vampire replies, "They tried stoning me, my dear. It did not work". Dark Shadows hits cinemas on May 11, 2012.