House of Dark Shadows

This is one of the best horror films of the '70's, and certainly the best vampire flick of that decade. Based on the highly successful supernatural soap opera DARK SHADOWS, this feature film version of the ever popular series recounts the resurrection of Barnabas Collins(Jonathan Frid), a 175-year-old vampire who passes himself off as a modern-day descendant of the Collins clan. While staying at the Gothic Collinwood estate, Barnabas becomes entranced by a beautiful governess(Kathryn Leigh Scott) who bears a striking resemblance to his long-lost love, Josette, and determines to make the young woman his new bride. Few films based on Tv shows work, but HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS is an exception to that rule and like the TV series on which it is based, HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS has developed into a cult classic over the years. Like its sequel, 1971's NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS, the film is currently under restoration. There are several sequences from both films missing. Hopefully, the generally unfavorable opinion of NIGHT will change once all of the missing footage has been recovered, and the film will then rank right up there along with its predecessor like it should.

For anyone who enjoys Gothic melodramas, this one is for you. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, producer Dan Curtis was on a roll with his hit afternoon television series Dark Shadows. When the powers that be decided to make a feature film version, most of the original cast members of the daily soap opera were recruited to star in this production. It is worth noting that several of the performers were pulling double duty at the time, since the daily program was churning out new episodes while HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS was being filmed.

Of course, a feature film version is going to have a much larger budget than its TV counterpart. And it is also going to be made in color, not black and white. Curtis and his crew do a very effective job transferring the basic original ideas to the big screen. In fact, they do not miss a beat introducing vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) and the rest of the inhabitants of Collinwood to celluloid. From the first fade in, it's a bloody good show, and the entire affair is raised a notch or two by the presence of an old pro-- Joan Bennett, doing quite well as matriarch Elizabeth Stoddard Collins, fang you very much!

The film features a number of the series regulars repeating their original TV roles, and there are several recycled plot elements from the show that come in handy for the movie. But producer/director Dan Curtis(the creator of the original series), knows the drastic difference between a daytime TV soap opera and a feature film, and uses this knowledge to create a striking, entertaining picture. Unlike an episodic TV series, the film doesn't allow the suspense to lag at a snail's pace, but actually builds suspense from the opening scene and never lets up! The performances by the multi-talented cast are truly wonderful, though star Joan Bennett(one of my most favorite characters on the show), doesn't get as much screen time as I would have liked. This is probably due to the fact that the film was cut by some twenty minutes before being released. But even in its truncated form, HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS remains one of the greatest vampire/horror flicks of its time.

'Dark Shadows' is one of those shows that wholly deserves its popularity and its reputation as a classic. There are a few films based on it, and while they're all watchable in varying ways quality-wise they're mixed.

By far the best of them is this, 'House of Dark Shadows'. To me also, it's the only film to be as good as the show, not quite on the same level but almost as good. Its only real problems are some characters not given enough screen time or development, especially Elizabeth and Maggie, and Joan Bennett being very underused as Elizabeth that she doesn't shine anywhere near as much as in the show.

'House of Dark Shadows' however is visually an improvement over the show's production values, with the exception of a couple of goofs and bloopers which didn't hurt the film at all. The production and costume design are lavish and splendidly Gothic, and it's all photographed stunningly and boasts some surprisingly good special effects. The music is suitably moody, and evokes a real eeriness.

The script has a good balance of the funny and the tense, and the story is never dull, is always fun and has some real nerve-shredding tension and bone-chilling shock. The highlight was the somewhat poetic ending, which is also a masterclass in sheer galvanising horror and incredible Gothic imagery. There is a good deal of gore, but it's used chillingly and is never overused or gratuitous. Dan Curtis directs beautifully and intelligently, never once undermining the tension, suspense or horror and doesn't make the mistakes of not having enough of either or over-crowding the film with them.

Most of the characters are interesting, particularly Barnabas and Julia, and the wonderful chemistry between the actors in the show translates every bit as wonderfully here. The acting is uniformly good, with only Bennett not shining as much as she could have done due to being so underused. Jonathan Frid is terrifyingly magnetic, while Grayson Hall, Thayer David and Nancy Barrett are particularly strong in support.

All in all, by far the best of the 'Dark Shadows' films and the only one to be as good as the show. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Movie version of the Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows with better production values. It's a great-looking movie that makes effective use of location shooting. Dan Curtis, creator of the series as well as many other horror-related films and shows for television in the '70s, directs his first theatrical release here. I've always been a big admirer of Curtis, who did more for horror (and television in general) than he seems to get credit for.

The plot for the film comes directly from the TV series. Essentially it retells the story of vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid), the show's most popular character, and his quests for a cure and to be with his reincarnated love. I wouldn't call it a scary movie, though some of the outdoors scenes at night do carry a reasonable amount of spooky atmosphere and tension. Also, the old-age makeup used on a character at one point is well-done and creepy. Nice music, as well. Fans of the series will probably find more to like than most but I think there's a lot here to enjoy, even for those unfamiliar with Dark Shadows.