OUT OF THE SHADOWS
The murky and gothic world of Dark Shadows, a soap opera that originally aired on ABC from 1966 to 1971, featured a family plagued by ghoulish creatures of the night: ghosts, werewolves, zombies, witches, warlocks, and more. Barnabas Collins (played by Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s 2012 film adaptation of Dark Shadows) at first appears to be just another monster, a 175-year-old vampire driven by bloodlust and the memories of a lost love. But the bloodsucker undergoes a transformation, eventually reflecting very human qualities as he repeatedly risks his own existence to save others.
Long before marriage equality ruled the land, movie monsters were ways for scriptwriters to bring euphemistic queer characters to life., in the “world of the weird and wonderful .” But , he promises, is its own monster, both “high camp, with a lot of laughs and silliness, but also a gripping horror story.” The 12-episode production premiered at Los Angeles’ Celebration Theatre in October, with two new episodes back to back each week for six weeks.
