Jan '17 *
Once there was a tv show which everyone and their fuckin' grammy loved dearly. The kids raced home from school, the housewives took a 30 minute break. Not just for any show, but a Soap opera about a time-traveling Vampire. Enough said, right? Maybe, but this low-rated Soap, which began in 1966, quickly went from underrated to great to legendary over the next couple years after Jonathan Frid joined the cast, portraying tortured Vampire, Barnabas Collins. Dark Shadows had already flirted with the supernatural prior to this, but once this groundbreaking character made a splash, the volume was permanently turned up full blast on the supernatural elements. A tv show that once hung by a thread was now a household name. It wouldn't be long before talks between creator, Dan Curtis and MGM arose concerning a big screen version of the popular show. Many still believe this would be the beginning of the end for Dark Shadows.
Why this movie may have been a bad idea is a bit complicated. First and foremost, House Of Dark Shadows was unnecessary. I mean, it certainly wasn't for those who wanted to make money off the idea, but I mean from a fan standpoint. In theory, it may sound cool, but this is a 30 minute Soap we're talking about here. And a very slow moving one. It takes the better part of a year to complete a storyline. It takes months to establish a character and for that character to get the viewer emotionally invested. Plus, this show has a certain atmosphere and vibe that no film could ever do justice. But you can't blame them for trying.
One reason people loved the show was the rich, detailed history of the Collins family. How important they were. How prestigious it was to be a part of this family. All the history, secrets and legends. Far too much to squeeze into even a four hour film. What we get in House Of Dark Shadows is a condensed, Hammeresque version of a bunch of shit we've already seen. Not bad at all if you're unfamiliar. But if you are a fan, well, it's just okay.
I suppose it'll be simpler to explain the rushed movie version of the story as opposed to the tv version since there's so much less to say about it. But like I said, this is basically a recreation of the storyline which introduced Barnabas Collins. A storyline which portrayed him as the villain, but eventually giving him redemption due to huge ratings. However, the movie Barnabas doesn't exactly have a heart of gold underneath the bloodlust. That's the one thing that makes House Of Dark Shadows movie stand out.
As we begin our tour through memory lane, we notice Maggie Evans has replaced the Victoria Winters character as David Collins' governess, as she searches for him one night on the estate. We are thrown right into the middle of the story almost immediately as the recently fired handyman, Willie Loomis, has some business to take care of before taking off. He has reason to believe there are valuable jewels chained in a coffin in the Collins mausoleum. Whoever wrote that down is a first class dick, because when Willie breaks the chains and opens up the coffin, expecting all of his problems to be over, one huge problem reaches out and chokes him unconscious. As we would later find out, Willie is now under the control of a vampire.
At Collinwood, we find the original present day family from the show. Matriarch, Elizabeth, who is just kind of there. Her brother, Roger, who is the same uptight snob as his TV counterpart. And their kids, David and Carolyn. And for anyone not familiar with the show, no, they didn't have the kids together, although, that'd be pretty funny if they had. The collins family has a visitor. A man named Barnabas Collins, who claims to be a cousin from England. I guess there's no need to prove his relation since he looks exactly like an ancestor who happens to share the same name, who also happens to have a portrait hanging right down there. As we can already guess, there was ever only one Barnabas Collins. We don't get to find how it happened, but in 1797, Barnabas was made into a vampire, and later on, chained in a coffin so he could do no more harm.
Barnabas charms his descendants, and easily convinces Elizabeth to let him stay in the long abandoned old house on the estate, which was the original Collinwood that he grew up in. Fixing it up won't be a problem since Willie no longer has a will of his own. When Barnabas meets Maggie Evans, it's obsession at first site, as she is identical to his lost love, Josette. Something we don't know the importance of since this movie adds so little character development compared to the show. Barnabas also meets a doctor named Julia Hoffman who discovers his secret. Julia is confident she can cure his vampire "disease" with a series of injections, quickly gaining his trust. Barnabas has already killed and converted one member of the Collins family. So, this is risky, possibly stupid on Julia's part to associate with this monster. However, she feels it will be worth if she makes this medical breakthrough. However, Julia has a certain idea of how things are going to end up, and when this clashes with Barnabas' plans for him and Maggie, the hell that never broke loose on the show, is finally unleashed.
The good guy who would eventually emerge from TV Barnabas never shows up. Things start out similar enough, but at some point, takes a drastic turn, changing everything. And from the beginning, this story is designed to make us see Barnabas as the bad guy. Mainly, the exclusion of two characters. One being the ghost of Barnabas' little sister, Sarah, who's presence added a certain softness to his character. And then there's the witch, Angelique, who originally made him a vampire. No mention of either of them, giving us no choice but to see Barnabas Collins as the villain and nothing more.
This is a different Collinwood than what we're used to. Filmed in an actual house on an actual estate. It's not the worst movie-Collinwood they could have come up with, but it just wasn't Collinwood, as the "house" from the show is very much its own entity. The main character, in a way. It's all so unfamiliar, and clearly lacks that special something that we all know and love but can't fully explain. That feeling of isolation. That feeling that wind, thunder and Collinwood is all there is. It's not there. The characters say familiar lines, this time without error, but seemingly with less feeling.
There is a theory that House Of Dark Shadows indirectly led to the downfall of the show, which was insanely popular at one time, and still very popular on its dying day. First of all, more than half the cast had to be temporarily written out of the show in order to film this. And key players, obviously. Meanwhile, back at the real Collinwood, Dark Shadows drags and kills time while Quentin carries the show that is slowly losing steam. Once Jonathan Frid and the others returned, the writers just never came up with anything that got the ratings back up to their former glory. That, and later on, Jonathan Frid's refusal to go on playing Barnabas out of fear of being typecast, was enough to get one of the greatest shows of all time cancelled.
But after it was all over, Dan Curtis gathered up a few willing cast members and made one more movie https://trashepics.com/post/9/56/ which would close out the era of the original Dark Shadows. But the problems plaguing this one is another story in itself. There was to be a Dark Shadows movie trilogy, but the hassle that came with Night Of Dark Shadows proved to be too frustrating even for Dan Curtis, and the book was officially closed. Curtis would go on to write, produce and direct many successful movies and tv shows, but nothing ever as successful as the original Dark Shadows. Movie adaptations were never needed, but I'll admit, it's cool that they exist. And convenient for any potential Dark Shadows fans to go back and watch to get a better idea if the show is for them. Personally, I prefer the second movie to this one since it has a story we haven't seen, but I do have an appreciation for them both. As a huge fan of (ALMOST) all things Dark Shadows, it's hard not to. 6/10
Once there was a tv show which everyone and their fuckin' grammy loved dearly. The kids raced home from school, the housewives took a 30 minute break. Not just for any show, but a Soap opera about a time-traveling Vampire. Enough said, right? Maybe, but this low-rated Soap, which began in 1966, quickly went from underrated to great to legendary over the next couple years after Jonathan Frid joined the cast, portraying tortured Vampire, Barnabas Collins. Dark Shadows had already flirted with the supernatural prior to this, but once this groundbreaking character made a splash, the volume was permanently turned up full blast on the supernatural elements. A tv show that once hung by a thread was now a household name. It wouldn't be long before talks between creator, Dan Curtis and MGM arose concerning a big screen version of the popular show. Many still believe this would be the beginning of the end for Dark Shadows.
Why this movie may have been a bad idea is a bit complicated. First and foremost, House Of Dark Shadows was unnecessary. I mean, it certainly wasn't for those who wanted to make money off the idea, but I mean from a fan standpoint. In theory, it may sound cool, but this is a 30 minute Soap we're talking about here. And a very slow moving one. It takes the better part of a year to complete a storyline. It takes months to establish a character and for that character to get the viewer emotionally invested. Plus, this show has a certain atmosphere and vibe that no film could ever do justice. But you can't blame them for trying. One reason people loved the show was the rich, detailed history of the Collins family. How important they were. How prestigious it was to be a part of this family. All the history, secrets and legends. Far too much to squeeze into even a four hour film. What we get in House Of Dark Shadows is a condensed, Hammeresque version of a bunch of shit we've already seen. Not bad at all if you're unfamiliar. But if you are a fan, well, it's just okay.I suppose it'll be simpler to explain the rushed movie version of the story as opposed to the tv version since there's so much less to say about it. But like I said, this is basically a recreation of the storyline which introduced Barnabas Collins. A storyline which portrayed him as the villain, but eventually giving him redemption due to huge ratings. However, the movie Barnabas doesn't exactly have a heart of gold underneath the bloodlust. That's the one thing that makes House Of Dark Shadows movie stand out.
As we begin our tour through memory lane, we notice Maggie Evans has replaced the Victoria Winters character as David Collins' governess, as she searches for him one night on the estate. We are thrown right into the middle of the story almost immediately as the recently fired handyman, Willie Loomis, has some business to take care of before taking off. He has reason to believe there are valuable jewels chained in a coffin in the Collins mausoleum. Whoever wrote that down is a first class dick, because when Willie breaks the chains and opens up the coffin, expecting all of his problems to be over, one huge problem reaches out and chokes him unconscious. As we would later find out, Willie is now under the control of a vampire.At Collinwood, we find the original present day family from the show. Matriarch, Elizabeth, who is just kind of there. Her brother, Roger, who is the same uptight snob as his TV counterpart. And their kids, David and Carolyn. And for anyone not familiar with the show, no, they didn't have the kids together, although, that'd be pretty funny if they had. The collins family has a visitor. A man named Barnabas Collins, who claims to be a cousin from England. I guess there's no need to prove his relation since he looks exactly like an ancestor who happens to share the same name, who also happens to have a portrait hanging right down there. As we can already guess, there was ever only one Barnabas Collins. We don't get to find how it happened, but in 1797, Barnabas was made into a vampire, and later on, chained in a coffin so he could do no more harm.
Barnabas charms his descendants, and easily convinces Elizabeth to let him stay in the long abandoned old house on the estate, which was the original Collinwood that he grew up in. Fixing it up won't be a problem since Willie no longer has a will of his own. When Barnabas meets Maggie Evans, it's obsession at first site, as she is identical to his lost love, Josette. Something we don't know the importance of since this movie adds so little character development compared to the show. Barnabas also meets a doctor named Julia Hoffman who discovers his secret. Julia is confident she can cure his vampire "disease" with a series of injections, quickly gaining his trust. Barnabas has already killed and converted one member of the Collins family. So, this is risky, possibly stupid on Julia's part to associate with this monster. However, she feels it will be worth if she makes this medical breakthrough. However, Julia has a certain idea of how things are going to end up, and when this clashes with Barnabas' plans for him and Maggie, the hell that never broke loose on the show, is finally unleashed.
The good guy who would eventually emerge from TV Barnabas never shows up. Things start out similar enough, but at some point, takes a drastic turn, changing everything. And from the beginning, this story is designed to make us see Barnabas as the bad guy. Mainly, the exclusion of two characters. One being the ghost of Barnabas' little sister, Sarah, who's presence added a certain softness to his character. And then there's the witch, Angelique, who originally made him a vampire. No mention of either of them, giving us no choice but to see Barnabas Collins as the villain and nothing more.This is a different Collinwood than what we're used to. Filmed in an actual house on an actual estate. It's not the worst movie-Collinwood they could have come up with, but it just wasn't Collinwood, as the "house" from the show is very much its own entity. The main character, in a way. It's all so unfamiliar, and clearly lacks that special something that we all know and love but can't fully explain. That feeling of isolation. That feeling that wind, thunder and Collinwood is all there is. It's not there. The characters say familiar lines, this time without error, but seemingly with less feeling.
There is a theory that House Of Dark Shadows indirectly led to the downfall of the show, which was insanely popular at one time, and still very popular on its dying day. First of all, more than half the cast had to be temporarily written out of the show in order to film this. And key players, obviously. Meanwhile, back at the real Collinwood, Dark Shadows drags and kills time while Quentin carries the show that is slowly losing steam. Once Jonathan Frid and the others returned, the writers just never came up with anything that got the ratings back up to their former glory. That, and later on, Jonathan Frid's refusal to go on playing Barnabas out of fear of being typecast, was enough to get one of the greatest shows of all time cancelled. But after it was all over, Dan Curtis gathered up a few willing cast members and made one more movie https://trashepics.com/post/9/56/ which would close out the era of the original Dark Shadows. But the problems plaguing this one is another story in itself. There was to be a Dark Shadows movie trilogy, but the hassle that came with Night Of Dark Shadows proved to be too frustrating even for Dan Curtis, and the book was officially closed. Curtis would go on to write, produce and direct many successful movies and tv shows, but nothing ever as successful as the original Dark Shadows. Movie adaptations were never needed, but I'll admit, it's cool that they exist. And convenient for any potential Dark Shadows fans to go back and watch to get a better idea if the show is for them. Personally, I prefer the second movie to this one since it has a story we haven't seen, but I do have an appreciation for them both. As a huge fan of (ALMOST) all things Dark Shadows, it's hard not to. 6/10
This movie is more violent, and a real downer. Most of our beloved characters from the show get killed, but they're not the same characters as in the show, so I don't know how to feel about it. Of course, the series had parallel timelines, so this just has to be one of them.
It's like a Hammer movie on crack. Kinda want to watch it now...