It’s a great time to be a fan of “Dark Shadows.” Thanks to Tim Burton’s revamp, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has seen fit to give enthusiasts of the gothic / horror soap what they’ve wanted for years – high-definition editions of the theatrical releases “House of Dark Shadows” and “Night of Dark Shadows.” “House of Dark Shadows” is an abridged version of the Barnabas Collins storyline of the popular television show. However, creator / director Dan Curtis was forced to explore different plot avenues with “Night of Dark Shadows.”
“Night of Dark Shadows” focuses on the arrival of artist Quentin Collins (David Selby) and his wife, Tracy (Kate Jackson), to his newly inherited home, Collinwood. He’s greeted by the mysterious housekeeper, Carlotta Drake (Grayson Hall), and the caretaker, Gerard Stiles (Jim Storm). Quentin begins having visions of a past existence in which he’s having an affair with his brother’s wife, Angelique (Lara Parker).
As he digs deeper into the family history, he discovers Angelique was hung on the property for accusations of being a witch. Are his trances truly memories of a former life? Can he keep the evil spirit of Angelique from destroying his family and friends and driving him insane?
Where “House of Dark Shadows” is quickly paced, this indirect sequel plods along nicely and establishes a storyline and a sense of fear and creepiness. The problem is what it builds up to. The conclusion of the film is rather abrupt and unsatisfying. There’s also a similarity to director Curtis’s ending of his 1976 film “Burnt Offerings,” which I find interesting in hindsight.
It’s obvious when viewing the movie that it suffered some final cuts in the editing room. Long-time enthusiasts of the show know the history behind the making of the film and the existence of lost footage. Director Curtis was given 24 hours to re-cut the movie from 129 minutes to 94 minutes by MGM.
Fans of the film petitioned to have the chopped sequences restored and a director’s cut released. The footage was found in 1999, but it was without sound. The scenes are said to give “Night of Dark Shadows” a darker mood and reinstate the original cohesion and framework of the film. It’s unfortunate that what we get here is still the 94-minute version released by the studio in 1971. However, beggars can’t be choosers.
The high-definition transfer gives viewers a restored picture they’ll be happy with. It’s clean but doesn’t take away from the classic flavor of the movie. The 1.0 audio will no doubt disappoint most consumers. It still sounds good, but an upgrade would have been nice.
There are no real special features included. The only thing we get is a theatrical trailer for the film. As I said about the “House of Dark Shadows” Blu-ray release, “Would it have been too much trouble to include a short featurette about the making of the movie?” I know the actors of the original “Dark Shadows” are rather personable, so I’m sure they would’ve sat down with someone to talk about this film.
“Night of Dark Shadows” on Blu-ray still delivers what fans of the TV show want. It gives them a great looking high-definition version of a film which was impossible to find in any DVD format. The movie itself might have some problems, but it’s still an entertaining watch.
For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:
Blu-ray Review: “House of Dark Shadows”
Blu-ray Review: “Dark Shadows”
Jonathan Frid, Original Barnabas Collins of ‘Dark Shadows,’ Dead at 87
