The DARK SHADOWS Trailer Will Be Unearthed On ELLEN

There's been a lot of wondering just where the hell the trailer to Tim Burton's Dark Shadows is (first by me, then by normal people). The movie opens in just under two months, and the absence of any kind of marketing has people wondering if the film is either in trouble, in danger of being pushed back, or possibly really awesome and impossible to pigeonhole with some lowest common denominator marketing campaign! I mean, probably someone besides me thinks that, somewhere.

The film test screened yesterday in Los Angeles; a quick review on Ain't It Cool claims the film "is most definitely a comedy, and a pretty damned funny one." For the rest of us, we'll get our first peek on The Ellen DeGeneres Show this Thursday. The show's site has a promo with quick snippets, including a pre-vampire Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), a Nosferatu-esque rise from the coffin, and (spoiler??) an institutionalized Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote). If you're a member of the One Million Moms and don't want to burn in Hell for watching Ellen, the film's site has gone semi-live, with a countdown clock to the trailer's bow on Apple.

In the meantime, a few other pics have surfaced online, giving us a peek at the film's production design. Compared to Burton's last few outings, it's almost understated!

Additionally, a new book by original Dark Shadows star Kathryn Leigh Scott hits shelves in the coming weeks, and it features some candids of original cast members Jonathan Frid, David Selby and Ms. Scott attending the set of the new film.

There's no question that the film's a love letter to the original show; with the trailer and test screening hitting this week, it's time to find out how that translates (or doesn't) to general audiences.