A few thoughts: I only ever watched the Dark Shadows soap opera in passing when the re-runs were airing on PBS years back, but I always found myself intrigued by it. A late-'60s gothic soap opera with vampires and time-travel? How could I not be intrigued? So, needless to say, this has been on my watch list for a while. Based loosely on several stories within the soap, this movie follows the re-emergence of Barnabus Collins (who didn't appear in the show until over 200 episodes in), a vampire who ingratiates himself with the living members of the Collins family and tries to woo a potential bride. Storywise, this is still very soapy but much tighter, and infused with some blood and violence to keep things from becoming too melodramatic. Jonathan Frid does a great job as Barnabus, and the rest of the cast are solid, but even more than this lead performance, the movie works thanks to the gothic setting and production design. The final scene in particular looks amazing. This isn't a scary horror movie, but it's an atmospheric one.
Anyone with an interest in the soap opera, or just more dramatic (and less horrific) '70s vampire films.
My grade: C+
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