First Official Look: Tim Burton's 'Dark Shadows'

The first images we saw of Tim Burton's feature version of Dark Shadows were not flattering. They showed Johnny Depp heavily made up as the vampire Barnabas Collins, looking more like a Michael Jackson cosplayer than anything else.

Now Warner Bros. has released the first official image of the entire Dark Shadows cast, and though Depp still looks odd — almost like a child dressing up as Barnabas — the look is a lot better as he's centered in this family portrait. Check out the full image below.

EW released the image and offers the left to right cast breakdown. That is: Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman; Chloe Grace Moretz as Carolyn Stoddard; Eva Green as Angelique Bouchard; Gulliver McGrath as David Collins; Bella Heathcote as Vitoria Winters; Johnny Depp as Barnabas; Ray Shirley as Mrs. Johnson; Jackie Earle Haley as Willie Loomis; Jonny Lee Miller as Roger Collins; and Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard.

Sadly, the site beat everyone to the 'groundskeeper Willie' joke with respect to Haley's look, but it's an observation that must be made. Check EW for a bit of talk about each character from screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith.

Click to enlarge slightly.

Here's the long official synopsis, demonstrating that most of the story takes place in 1972, the year after the Dark Shadows TV series was canceled. Those who don't know the basics of the show might consider this spoilerish:

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 Brouchard (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.