David Collins (the young boy) and a lot of the original characters have almost nothing-to-do in the 1970 movie. Does David's tutor even have a role here? The story involves mainly two themes and is a clumsy reprise of the ABC series: Dr. Hoffman tries to "cure" Barnabas Collins, and the romance of Barnabas' reincarnated bride ("Angelique"). It moves way too fast, if you are not familiar with the original series. I read somewhere that the first part of the movie was (also) "chopped-off" as it seems to open in the middle, not the beginning. Maybe MGM made director Dan Curtis shorten it, as they did with his sequel "Night of Dark Shadows." Willie Loomis, the demented houseboy, is played "smarter" than in the other versions. It originally played as a double feature, mostly at drive-ins!
Everyone must be in a real fog not to see that Barnabas is the cause of the mysterious deaths. Plot twist: Silver bullets do not usually kill vampires, but they do in this re-telling. Barnabas was always a "reluctant" vampire, but not here. He is far meaner and he strangles as many people as he turns into vampires. This "change of personality" might have hastened the untimely demise of the afternoon series in 1971. Guest monsters like a werewolf or even Frankenstein (both were in the final season, weren't they?) would have helped. It is not "campy" enough. Far too serious in nature, and far more bloody than the series. At the finish, almost everyone is either dead or living-dead. (Did anyone see the fake-looking bat that flies away at the film's end?) Therefore, not everyone who loved the afternoon series will like this "recap". Die-hard fans will (probably) like it more than other viewers
However, it does have good production values: a real mansion and real woods instead of a cheap indoor set with outdoor filmed scenes. Look for Nancy Barrett, who becomes a gorgeous long-haired blond vampire. (She looks a lot like Majel Barrett from "Star Trek".) For die-hard fans only. Both House and Night of Dark Shadows are now on DVD. See my separate review of the 1991 revival series.
Everyone must be in a real fog not to see that Barnabas is the cause of the mysterious deaths. Plot twist: Silver bullets do not usually kill vampires, but they do in this re-telling. Barnabas was always a "reluctant" vampire, but not here. He is far meaner and he strangles as many people as he turns into vampires. This "change of personality" might have hastened the untimely demise of the afternoon series in 1971. Guest monsters like a werewolf or even Frankenstein (both were in the final season, weren't they?) would have helped. It is not "campy" enough. Far too serious in nature, and far more bloody than the series. At the finish, almost everyone is either dead or living-dead. (Did anyone see the fake-looking bat that flies away at the film's end?) Therefore, not everyone who loved the afternoon series will like this "recap". Die-hard fans will (probably) like it more than other viewers
However, it does have good production values: a real mansion and real woods instead of a cheap indoor set with outdoor filmed scenes. Look for Nancy Barrett, who becomes a gorgeous long-haired blond vampire. (She looks a lot like Majel Barrett from "Star Trek".) For die-hard fans only. Both House and Night of Dark Shadows are now on DVD. See my separate review of the 1991 revival series.