Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

marshrydrob From the beginning, the story plays out like a classic horror film. The script, in many ways; is like Dracula.When he is first introduced, the character Barnabus Collins; is looked upon, in a self- character, first person perspective. We see the other starting characters through his eyes. This is a nice touch.The movie, plays well. It has a good Gothic horror feel to it.There is a really good gathering of acting talent, and the story seems to be well written.The score, works good with the scenes. It keeps the viewer interested, by thought of things yet- to come pass: It builds on the suspense of each moment.A different score, could have been conceived; when Barnabus switched from his role as a man; to portraying the vampire, but the scenes still play out okay. House of Dark Shadows, is a good movie. Fans of Dracula, will enjoy this film.

utgard14 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.

jarrodmcdonald-1 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!

Beginthebeguine I was very happy to see that, due to the latest Dark Shadows resurrection, that the Dan Curtis estate has finally released the DVD/BluRay House of Dark Shadows. Although the movie is basically a rehash of the Barnabus cycle of the Soap Opera from which it is born. It was great fun to watch this movie I had originally rushed to see in the cinema back when I was a child. As disappointing, in its silliness, as the Tim Burton/Johhny Depp current movie is; this film tries to take the story seriously which is what makes camp funny in the first place. This, like other Dan Curtis productions of the 1970s are not meant to be funny, but they are in an endearing way.We had just come out of the Hammer era of Vampire flicks and Christopher Lee had hung up his cape and we were left hanging with Robert Quarry as Count Yorga. Barnabus was a vampire that we knew and watched every day, turning it into a film, that anyone but the most die-hard fan would go to see was very chancy in a time when Western cinema was trying to appear more upscale. In other words Horror and Westerns were out and the Godfather and Serpico was in. Barnabus is the first of the vampires we actually knew and there is no doubt that Ann Rice took her first interest in "knowing" the vampire's personal story from this show and/or movie. I suppose in a way we can thank Dan Curtis for the current crop of nauseating vampire movies starting with the terrible Vampire Lestat and making its--hopefully--swan song with the Twilight franchise. Needless to say I was thrilled when the DVD was released if only to own a part of my past that was so significant back then and had an effect on my childhood imagination.Is it a good film ? Dan Curtis could care less about conditionality, script, camera position, editing form, focus, or even sober actors (check out Joan Bennett). What Curtis did was create character and story and let us fill in the gaps. Perhaps that is why Barnabus had such an effect on the imagination of people from my generation.For the new viewer, especially those interested in film, one of the things that Dan Curtis could do is "Gothic". Not many Americans can do Gothic. The Brits have it down, but with us it is very difficult. The atmosphere makes up for so much. Also it is really just an exploitation film, as all genre films were back then, so add it to your list and sit back an enjoy the camp and thrill of "seeing how Vampires do it" as the trailer says.