House of Dark Shadows

"House of Dark Shadows" (1970) starring Jonathan Frid, Grayson Hall and Kathryn Leigh Scott is directed by  Dan Curtis and has finally been released on DVD & Blu-ray!  All the characters from the TV series are here:  the Collins family (Carolyn, Roger, David and the matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard), vampire Barnabas Collins, governess Maggie Evans, Dr. Julia Hoffman, caretaker Willie Loomis and more.  Everyone lives in Collinwood the family mansion and estate.

Barnabas is uncovered by Willie in the Collins family crypt.  He is awakened after nearly 200 years of being imprisoned.  He soon begins killing as vampires must do and making additional vampires.  He also introduces himself to his family saying he's a distant relative from England.  He moves in and fixes up the old family home that's on the estate.  One by one people around Collinwood start dying, including some of the family members.  Dr. Julia Hoffman (the wonderful Grayson Hall) soon figures out Barnabas is behind this and offers to try to cure him of being a vampire.  Barnabas also falls in love with the governess who he believes is the reincarnation of his fiancee Josette who died before they were married.

The storyline and characters will be familiar to those that loved to watch the original series or any of the remakes over the years.  Collinwood Estate is a huge Gothic style mansion with a large estate that has dilapidated buildings that the characters wander through at night to add to the suspense and eeriness.  This is another great Dark Shadows film to add to your video library!

Night of Dark Shadows

Just in time for Halloween, "Night of Dark Shadows" (1971) starring David Selby, Grayson Hall and Kate Jackson was finally released on DVD and Blu-ray today!  I've been waiting for it to be released and am glad to finally own a copy of this movie. This film is written and directed by Dan Curtis who did the original Dark Shadows series as well as many made for TV thrillers in the 70s.  It takes place in the present (1971) where Quentin Collins (David Selby) and his wife Tracy (Kate Jackson in her first movie appearance) move into the newly inherited Collinwood Manor. 

Soon after moving into the mansion, Quentin starts acting mysteriously, always locking himself into the tower room to work on his paintings.  He starts remembering things from his family's past in the 1800s when Angelique was alive and then killed as a witch.  Angelique's ghost is haunting the house and turning Quentin against Tracy.  The housekeeper, Carlotta Drake (the delightful Grayson Hall), is the reincarnation of a girl that lived in the house and is now keeping Angelique's spirit alive. 

The Gothic style house and estate is a character in itself adding loads of atmosphere to this movie.  I'm glad to see this movie finally getting wider release.  A great addition to any horror library!

Dark Shadows

Last night was movie night at one of the few remaining drive-in theaters in the area.  We went and saw director  Tim Burton 's Dark Shadows (2012) starring Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter and Eva Green.

I never watched the original Dark Shadows TV series but I am a fan of the revival series from 1991.  Tim Burton's version has vampire Barnabas Collins awakened after two hundred years imprisoned in a coffin.  The time is 1972 and he rejoins his descendants in their now run down mansion, Collinwood.  Barnabas tries to help his family regain some of the importance they once held in the town that holds their family name.  His awakening also stirs up the family's archenemy, Angelique, the witch who is still alive and trying to get Barnabas to love her or else she will destroy him and his family.

The previews made this out to be an ultra campy, almost purely comedic movie.  While the actual movie  includes the comedy, camp and liberal use of 70's music, it also includes the atmosphere of the Dark Shadows series as well as the Collins family dynamics and all the other supernatural creatures such as vampires, ghosts, witches and werewolves.  The actors did a great job with their characters, including Johnny Depp as Barnabas, Michelle Pfeiffer as the family matriarch Elizabeth and a very delightful and colorful Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman.  The romance between Barnabas and Victoria Winters seemed almost like an afterthought though.

As a whole,  I liked this version of Dark Shadows.  It's a good addition to the ongoing Dark Shadows saga and I look forward to owning it when it is released on DVD/Blu-ray.