Out of the Dark Shadows - Part 2

In the second part of my "appreciation" of all things Dark Shadows on DownrightCreepy, I discuss how much I love the 1970 movie version, House of Dark Shadows:

In order to successfully consolidate what occurred over the course of 154 TV episodes into a 97-minute movie, Curtis and screenwriters Sam Hall and Gordon Russell, also Dark Shadows veterans, had to take some liberties with the story. They did a remarkable job of honoring the original series while at the same time producing a stand-alone movie experience. In essence, they eliminated the character of Victoria Winters (actress Alexandra Moltke had left the series by then) and turned the character Maggie Evans into both the Collins family governess and the possible reincarnation of Josette DuPres.

I have dissected House of Dark Shadows scene-by-scene while comparing it to the source material, the story arc first broadcast between 4-17-67 and 10-27-67.  Without getting too detailed, I'm going to attempt to summarize the comparison below.

House of Dark Shadows begins running right out of the gate, not letting opening credits delay the action.  They are superimposed over the first few minutes of the movie.  As it starts, Maggie Evans is looking for David Collins.  In only two to three minutes, this scene accomplishes several things:

·         Establishes that David is a troubled young lad

·         Introduces a new character to the story, Daphne Budd, a secretary working for Elizabeth Collins Stoddard

·         Introduces Willie Loomis, his uncomfortable relationship with Maggie and the clues and motivation he has for treasure-hunting on the Collins estate

·         Introduces Roger Collins and his questionable parenting skills

In the movie, Willie is an employee of the Collins family, not the drifter friend of Jason Maguire, who is not a character in the movie.  However, this does not change Willie's motivations for finding the buried jewels.  He still removes the chains from the coffin and opens it.  At approximately eight minutes into House of Dark Shadows, a hand with a black ring on its index finger reaches up from the coffin and grab's Willie's neck, much like it did in Dark Shadows, the original series.

We soon learn the real reason for the character of Daphne: victim.  On the way to her car, which seems very far away, dogs howl and crows crow.  A first-person shot from the woods tells us that someone is watching her.  She drops her purse and runs to her car.  As she gets in, the passenger door opens and a hand with a black ring on its index finger grabs her neck.  Later, at The Blue Whale, Todd Blake (erroneously listed as Todd Jennings in the credits) hears from a policeman that another woman was found dead and that she was bitten, just like Daphne.  On the TV show, there were no vampire attacks before Barnabas arrived at Collinwood.

The family core is introduced in House of Dark Shadows with similar dynamics as those on Dark Shadows.  However, several characters are introduced in the movie that did not appear until later on TV.  Jeff Clark first appears by discovering Daphne lying bloodless on the road and Professor Elliott Stokes first appears with the family when they meet Barnabas.

Besides the character of Daphne Budd, Todd Blake never appeared on the TV show.  (He most likely takes the place of Joe Haskell.)

In the movie, Julia Hoffman appears earlier than she did in the TV show, as caregiver for Daphne at Collinwood rather than Maggie at Windcliff sanitarium.  She's also acknowledged to be both a doctor and an historian, whereas on TV she masqueraded as an historian to investigate Maggie's condition.

At just over 17 minutes into House of Dark Shadows, a man approaches the Great House.  In a first-person shot that will continue for about two minutes, a hand with a black ring on its index finger pushes the doorbell.  Mrs. Johnson answers the door and lets him in.  While she leaves to tell Elizabeth that he's there, he looks around the drawing room.  His hand presses a key on the organ.  Roger approaches, seen through the curve of a cane handle, "If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it."

"It's an extraordinary likeness," says Elizabeth, "like a portrait come to life."  The camera pans from the painting of Barnabas Collins to the man standing before it: Barnabas Collins.

Click here to watch a compilation of scenes showing the introduction of Barnabas Collins.

Then click here to watch the same introduction as depicted on the original daytime drama.

As told by Barnabas Collins, his backstory is similar in both versions of Dark Shadows:

·         The family has no idea they still had relatives living in England

·         They do know that the original Barnabas Collins went to England in the late-1700s

·         Naomi Collins was the original Barnabas' mother

In House of Dark Shadows, Carolyn becomes Barnabas first vampire “slave” due to her curiosity and skepticism about Barnabas’ arrival.  In Dark Shadows, she is not bitten until after Julia’s cure for Barnabas fails.  Using Carolyn as a jealous “lover” provides an expeditious way to introduce Maggie as the reincarnation of Josette and Barnabas’ infatuation with her.  While this is ultimately bad news for Carolyn because Barnabas must eventually turn her, it is good news for the movie because it provides a vampire that can scare David, bite Todd and then be destroyed in a gruesome staking scene.

The story of Josette DuPres is similar in both versions of Dark Shadows.  Barnabas tells Willie:

I gave her this music box 180 years ago.  This was her room, exactly as it was the night we were to be married.  This was her wedding gown; she never got to wear it.  When we fell in love, Josette and I, I was as you are.  When they put this curse upon me, there was only one way I could have her.  I went to her that night and offered her eternal life, eternal love.  Then she found out what our marriage was to be.  She went to the cliff at Widow’s Hill.  I couldn’t stop her.  I found her body on the rocks below.  And they found me.  My father couldn’t bring himself to destroy me, so he chained me in that coffin for what he thought would be eternity.  Willie, I never thought I’d see her again.  But now I’ve been given a second chance, because tonight I have found her again, Willie.  I have found my Josette and this time there will be that wedding.

Click here to watch a compilation of scenes telling the story of Josette DuPres.

Then click here to watch the same story as depicted on the original daytime drama.

After Carolyn is killed, about 55 minutes into the movie, Julia discovers Barnabas’ secret and convinces him that she can cure him.  As in the series, when Barnabas get impatient about completing his treatment and Julia becomes jealous over his feelings for another woman, the cure backfires and Barnabas is transformed into a withering old man.  To reverse the effect, Barnabas feeds on Maggie.  (Remember, in the TV show, he fed on Carolyn.)  In House of Dark Shadows, the cure sequence is wrapped up in about 25 minutes; in Dark Shadows, it occurred over the course of 61 episodes (288-349).

Click here to watch a compilation of scenes summarizing the cure storyline.

Then click here to watch the same storyline as depicted on the original daytime drama.

In both versions of the cure storyline, Willie at some point warns Maggie to stay away from Barnabas.  This results in Barnabas beating him with his cane.  It is interesting to compare the two examples of Barnabas’ brutality.  Besides the flexibility a movie allows, its sequence demonstrates how Barnabas is portrayed less sympathetically and more as a being of true evil.

It is at this point that comparisons between House of Dark Shadows and its predecessor must end.  That is primarily because in a movie, there must be a conclusion with everything wrapped up tidily.  On the TV show, the characters and stories would continue for years.  The last 15 minutes of House of Dark Shadows is thrilling.  I won’t spoil the ending for those who take my recommendation to watch it; however, I will reiterate how well it brings multiple characters and stories from the television series to a satisfying theatrical conclusion.