House of Dark Shadows (DVD)

Fantastic.

(POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT) HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS is the story of Barnabas Collins, vampire, as it might have originally played out on the ABC tv-series had the intitial intent of bringing the vampire on and then dispatching him after a few months come to fruition. As all DS fans know, of course, Jonathan Frid did such a great job portraying Barnabas that he became an instant hit and the character remained on the show for nearly the rest of the series run. Clearly this movie version is far more graphically violent than ever would have been allowed on TV. The film provides an intriguing storyline, very good performances by the key actors and actresses, great suspense, and some of the truly creepiest scenes to ever be captured on celluloid. Old fan or novice to the DS mythos this film is definitely worth seeing! This digitally restored DVD version of HODS is a joy to watch: the colors are vibrant, the sound excellent, the picture crisp. Our favorite DS characters may never have looked so good! Part of the fun for DS fans with this film is trying to spot all the actors who appeared on the show, many of whom pop up in bit parts. Some of those who didnt make it into this one were able to score cameos in NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS. The location filming adds to the films credibility and serves to enhance the eerie atmosphere Dan Curtis intended. HODS is a memorable film that delivers plenty of jolts and chills. It is a classic in its own right.

The quality is good for a film made so long ago. This is not the same as the tv show. The characters are the same but its a lot darker and there is plenty of bloodletting in this movie. Not giving anything away but family members meet their fate in this Collinswood.

I hated this movie and Im surprised at the good reviews. It was just dark and sinister and killing off most of the Collins clan was a big mistake. It did not show the real Barnabas we had come to love. The 1991 series revival that Dan Curtis produced was much better at showing the angry sinister Barnabas who was also tortured, lonely and still wanted family and love. The movie just seems to reflect the mood of Curtis and the writers in the last year of the series - Its almost over so lets get rid of everybody and move on. After watching House of Dark Shadows, I can understand why Jonathan Frid refused to be in the next movie. He had class - it was time to move on.

Awesome film, one of the best Vampire movies,right up there with the Christopher Lee Dracula films. The Scariest scene in my opinion, is when Carolyn Stoddard returns from the dead as a vampire and summons young David Collins to come to her one night at the Old swimming pool on the Collins estate. This movie is a must for a die hard Dark Shadows and vampire movie fan.

First of all Jonathan Frid was an ideal choice to play this role. His naturaly dark features enhanced the vampire look!With his fangs and cane and cape in place Jonthan Frid was probably one of the scariest looking vampires ever!I became Dark Shadows fan when I was in the second grade I became hooked on the David and Hallie, Gerard and Daphne storyline.I followed the series all the way till the end in 1971.I remember tuning in to DS old time slot and finding ABC replaced it with Password.I was soo sad not to see anymore new episodes.As the show left the airwaves so did the memory of the show began to fade since at that time no interest in showing the series again I really forgotten.I was twelve years old one night Babysitting my nephews and nieces who had gone to bed.Around 11:30 CBS late night announced they were going to air a move called House of Dark Shadows.I am so excited at the news good this be like the show I was once hooked on after school.The movie starts with that great theme song and I was in store for a spooky heart racing two hours.The movie basically redoes the origin of Barnabas and his obsession for Jossette his bride who jumped off widows hill so she would not become a Vampire like him.This was much bloodier and violent than the daytime series ever was.I still remember the scene where Julia is trying to escape from Barnabas because she purposely messed with his injections and caused him to age 100 years.She screams your face your face when the camera shifts to Barnabas old withered self and his scream I almost went in my pants.The end was so spooky and gory I could not sleep for two weeks.Ah the good old days when a movie scared the crap out of you. I also had the similar experience when I saw the original Kolchack the Night Stalker.I was afraid even to go to the bathroom when it was bed time.Gotta love those vampires.

I always have fun watching this movie. It reminds me of when my brother snuck me to see it as a kid in the theatre when it was first released. He told my parents we were going to a Disney flick... not

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 Scott, Roger Davis, Nancy Barrett, John Karlen, Thayer David, Louis Edmonds, Don Briscoe, Dennis Patrick, Lisa Blake Richards, Jerry Lacy, Paul Michael, Humbert Allen Astredo, Terrayne Crawford, Michael Stroka and Joan Bennett. George Di Cenzo has an uncredited role, whom you may remember from the 1976 tv-movie Helter Skelter or the ABC tv-series Dynasty. Psychic Chip Coffey, in his much younger days, appears as a party guest. This sticks with the gothic story without all that soap opera fluff. Willie has released Barnabas Collins from his coffin and thus is resurrected. The man has been in the coffin for 172 years. He must have blood from his victims so that he may stay young. Barnabas goes to the Collinwood Estate to get reacquainted with his immediate relatives. They believe he has just arrived in town from England. They do not know he is the killing vampire nor the original Barnabas Collins of family history. (Thats why he knows the history so well). Locations: The Collinwood set is actually The Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, New York. The Collinsport Inn is actually The Three Bears Inn in Westport, Connecticut. The abandoned Monastery set is actually the Lockwood-Mathews mansion in Norwalk, Connecticut. The old house set is actually the Schoales Estate (Beechwood) in Tarrytown, New York. Followed by

This movie is a throwback to the grind house/slasher era. Dan Curtis put together a movie that is a condensed version of the arrival of Barnabas Collins to Collinwood storyline in the original series from 1966. Instead of the TV set in NY, filming was done at the Lyndhust Mansion/Seaview Terrace (the exterior building used in the intro and transitions in the original series).

Dark Shadows was a phenomenon. The kind of cultural big deal that needed to be cashed in on, which is why producer and creator Dan Curtis started pitching a featuring length TV movie from 1968 on. The original idea was to simply edit together old episodes of the show, but soon the idea to tell the entire Barnabas Collins saga — complete with bloody bites and gore — took over. As the TV series was still on the air, several of the actors were written out, with Barnabas being trapped in a coffin — for 28 episodes — by a writer who was trying to use the vampire for a biographical novel. Other characters were replaced in the 1970 parallel world story arc. With a budget of $750,000 — that was probably enough for 750 episodes of the actual series — and on location shooting at the Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, New York and that town’s Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (as well as the Lockwood–Mathews Mansion in Norwalk, Connecticut), this movie looks gorgeous. And it’s a joy to see so much of the original cast come back and play modified versions of their roles. However, what takes years on the soap opera now takes moments. It’s a bit disconcerting. Much like his entry on the show, Barnabas (Johnathan Frid) is found by handyman Willie Loomis (John Karlen) and within moments, is both introducing himself as a long-lost European relative while also taking bites out of almost every single female castmember. Daphne Budd? Bitten. Carolyn Stoddard? She gets a bite. Maggie Evans? Yep, her too. Barnabas also gets transformed into a human by Dr. Julia Hoffman, but she falls for him and jealously transforms him into his true age. No worries — a few bites from his chosen bride, Maggie, brings him back to vitality. The only part that you may not enjoy is Willie turning on Barnabas and the titular vampire succumbing to a crossbow to the back. That said, his bat flies away — Curtis was doing end credit teases way before the Marvel movies — in a nod to a projected sequel that never happened, Curse of Dark Shadows. There’s also a moment where Quentin Collins’ theme is heard, but he doesn’t show up. I’m certain there were many young ladies who were crushed by this fact. If you’ve never watched the original episodes, this is a fun movie. If you have, you may just end up upset that so much is glossed over. Regardless, I saw it at the drive-in, paired with its spiritual sequel and I enjoyed the hell out of it.