Dark, strange, haunting and creative filmmaking is the trademark of Tim Burton's work. He has the ability to bring some of the most evocative dreams and haunting of nightmares to life; his talent allows the imagination to walk right into the worlds he has created and for all of the critical apathy to some of his later works, there has never been a compromise on his vision. From his first five-minute film Vincent to this season's release of Big Eyes, there are not many other directors that can claim to have such a dedicated and admiring hoard of fans who will soak up all of his wildest creations. You can almost set your watch by his trademarks: monsters, ghouls, witches, doors into the after-life, evil, good, blood and gore are just some of the features of his eerie movies. Prominently in every film there will an heroic Outcast, from Edward Scissorhands, Lydia in Beetlejuice, Ed Wood and Pee Wee. Drawing his fans in not only empathically but also to understand that it is perfectly normal to act a little strange. After all, he's hardly mainstream himself. If you know all the words to Corpse Bride, there is an Edward Scissorhands poster stuck up on your wall, you have a Beetlejuice costume hanging up in your wardrobe, hold more Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise than Disney and you find yourself doing three or more of the points below; then you really are a true Tim Burton fan, and only you will understand these things...