I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

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.

'Dark Shadows' is one of those shows that wholly deserves its popularity and its reputation as a classic. There are a few films based on it, and while they're all watchable in varying ways quality-wise they're mixed.By far the best of them is this, 'House of Dark Shadows'. To me also, it's the only film to be as good as the show, not quite on the same level but almost as good. Its only real problems are some characters not given enough screen time or development, especially Elizabeth and Maggie, and Joan Bennett being very underused as Elizabeth that she doesn't shine anywhere near as much as in the show.'House of Dark Shadows' however is visually an improvement over the show's production values, with the exception of a couple of goofs and bloopers which didn't hurt the film at all. The production and costume design are lavish and splendidly Gothic, and it's all photographed stunningly and boasts some surprisingly good special effects. The music is suitably moody, and evokes a real eeriness.The script has a good balance of the funny and the tense, and the story is never dull, is always fun and has some real nerve-shredding tension and bone-chilling shock. The highlight was the somewhat poetic ending, which is also a masterclass in sheer galvanising horror and incredible Gothic imagery. There is a good deal of gore, but it's used chillingly and is never overused or gratuitous. Dan Curtis directs beautifully and intelligently, never once undermining the tension, suspense or horror and doesn't make the mistakes of not having enough of either or over-crowding the film with them.Most of the characters are interesting, particularly Barnabas and Julia, and the wonderful chemistry between the actors in the show translates every bit as wonderfully here. The acting is uniformly good, with only Bennett not shining as much as she could have done due to being so underused. Jonathan Frid is terrifyingly magnetic, while Grayson Hall, Thayer David and Nancy Barrett are particularly strong in support.All in all, by far the best of the 'Dark Shadows' films and the only one to be as good as the show. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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!

I re-watched this last night. For the past year, I've been watching the classic Dark Shadows series, and I thought this movie was done pretty well. I love how they actually play the theme (unlike Tim Burton's version) They tried so hard to re-film scenes from episodes 211- 300ish and cram it all into a 90 minute movie. Their cut scenes felt like they cut it too short and went on to something else. In the beginning of the show, Barnabas was very much a monster and killed people, but as the series progressed, he sorta became a good guy and helped people. This film shows Barnabas as he was in the beginning; a vampire that killed people and forced Willie Loomis to be his servant. After attacking Carolyn, Barnabas becomes attracted to Maggie Evans, who be believes is his lost love, Josette DuPres re-incarnated.If you didn't watch the show, you'd probably have no idea what's going on. The film starts so suddenly it feels like it's in the middle of one of the episodes. No story as to who the Collins family are. No mention of Victoria Winters. No backstory as to how Barnabas became a vampire, and not mentioned how or why Dr. Hoffman, Jeff Clark, or Professor Stokes are there (but in the series, it's all explained. This film doesn't run con-current with the series, so it's not meant to be a sequel to the show) It has its faults, but it's a pretty worthy film based on the series. If you love the series, you may enjoy HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS!!!