House of Dark Shadows

Before there was "Passions," there was "Dark Shadows"!
To those of you spending your days bewitched by the misadventures of Tabitha and Timmy on "Passions," there are those of us who are here to remind you of "Dark Shadows," the cult soap opera hit that ran from 1966-71. The Gothic soap was floundering in the ratings when the character of vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) was introduced. Producer/Director Dan Curtis provided this 1970 introduction to the wonderful world of "Dark Shadows," so late comers could get up to speed. Barnabas is freed from his crypt after nearly 200 years by a thief stealing treasure and returns to the family home Collinwood pretending to be a distant English cousin who just happens to be named for the infamous "ancestor." Barnabas discovers that the family governess, Maggie Evans (Kathryn Leigh Scott) is the spitting image of his former love Josette, who killed herself when she learned he had become a vampire. Meanwhile, the family physician Dr. Julia Hoffman...

One of the best vampire films of all time
Largely because it was based on a cult daytime seriel, House of Dark Shadows has always been underrated and often unfairly dismissed as just one last attempt to exploit the show's then-waning popularity. As well, House of Dark Shadows came out at a time when the vampire film was having a minor revival and as such, it is often simply lumped together with the likes of Count Yorga or Blacula and forgotten. This is unfortunate because, when watched with an unbiased, open mind, House of Dark Shadows is revealed to be one of the best horror films of the '70s, an original work that -- if indeed it was created mostly to cash in on a tv show in decline -- manages to both improve on the show and to stand along as its own seperate, highly satisfying terms.

It is true that the film's plot is basically a retelling of the first few years of the tv show. Petty criminal Willie Loomis accidentally releases 200 year-old vampire Barnabas Collins who proceeds to reacquaint himself with the modern...

Theatrical version of a Dark Shadows story. Gothic!
House of Dark Shadows will be released on DVD and Blu-ray, October 31, 2012.

"Dark Shadows" (1966-71) was one-of-a-kind. It was an ABC Network soap opera that early on was done LIVE. It became more gothic when they brought in Jonathan Frid for the role of "Barnabas Collins", a resurrected vampire.
As the soap opera changed to living color, they also included werewolves, witches, ghosts and possession. It became so much more scarier. They even tried "time travel" to tell the history of Collins family.
This film was actually made while Dark Shadows was still on television. This theatrical motion picture is actually a remake based upon the first few months of the "Barnabas Collins" storyline. Some changes were made for this movie version. Most of the entire cast in this film also appeared in the original Dark Shadow tv serial (1966-1971). Jonathan Frid, Grayson Hall, Kathryn Leigh...

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