HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS (1970)
Growing up, I had seen chunks of daytime television because of my mother. Whether it was Guiding Light or As the World Turns, I guess you could say that I peeped at soap operas vicariously through her, or at least that's how I remember it. I don't like to admit that I enjoyed them myself. Of course, I watch pro-wrestling now, so I'm in no position to judge. And if I was a slice older, I would have been eager to consume goblets of Dark Shadows, a show tailor-made for horror freaks who didn't mind their scares being stagy and episodic. I should preface the rest of this review by stating the obvious; I haven't seen one solitary episode of Dark Shadows. Unfortunately, this made-for-TV film wasn't timbered with outsiders in mind. The first act is blurry, as it throws characters at the viewer without much of an introduction.
I was familiar with Barnabas Collins, however. Here, the regal vampire is presented as a distant relative. Most of the action takes place at the Collinwood Estate. House is light on plot until bodies begin to pile up, bodies drained of plasma. Survivors seem to be in a trance, and I'm sure you can figure out where we're going. To be perfectly honest, this bat-winged b-picture (make no mistake, we're in b-territory) creeps along at a laggard gait, but then suddenly, everything clicks into place. The atmosphere is intensified (as far as I can tell, half of the budget was spent on fog machines), the gore is thickened, and it becomes harder to predict the story beats. Does House of Dark Shadows work as a companion piece to the TV series? No idea, but probably. There is a sequel. Tune in next week to see if it sinks its fangs into yours truly.
No comments:
Post a Comment