With a resurgence in the popularity of Dark Shadows — thanks to a complete series DVD collection and in spite of Tim Burton’s less-than-warmly received feature film — the folks at Warner Brothers have decided to give the original Dark Shadows movies their due … on Blu-ray! Yes, we finally have gorgeous versions of House of Dark Shadows and Night of Dark Shadows to fill the void that, for some, was created by the Burton version (which, for the record, I didn’t think was all that bad).

Of the two films, House of Dark Shadows is definitely the better one. Night of Dark Shadows may have its fans, but it certainly does not live up to the good will which carried over from the original series. Of course, the biggest problem is that the film was edited mercilessly before release, and all efforts to produce a restored director’s cut have apparently been scuttled mainly due to the poor condition of the existing audio tracks. Too bad because it would have been nice to see what director Dan Curtis had originally intended.

Looking at House of Dark Shadows, hardcore fans may be surprised to see how much the film actually shares with Burton’s version. He was accused of ruining the memory of the TV series, but his film is more closely a remake of the original movie than of the show. And for people who watched the TV show faithfully, the movie is basically key plot points boiled down to a 90-minute feature. The film opens with Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) awakened from his eternal slumber by Collinwood groundskeeper Willie Loomis (John Karlen) who was looking for supposedly hidden jewels. He got a little more than he bargained for. Like Burton’s movie, Barnabas turns Willie into his slave, pops up at Collinwood as a distant cousin from England, moves into The Old House, and sets his sights on Maggie Evans (Kathryn Leigh Scott) who seems to be the reincarnation of his long lost love, Josette. (And there is no Victoria Winters … Maggie Evans is now young David’s caretaker instead of a coffee shop waitress as she was on TV). Dr. Julia Hoffman (the fabulous Grayson Hall) is also on hand, discovers Barnabas is a vampire and sets out to cure him (she also falls in love with him not knowing he only has eyes for Maggie). The only thing missing is the witch Angelique and the fish-out-of-water humor (yes, Barnabas knows what a door bell is in this version).

While the situations in House of Dark Shadows are familiar, what sets the movie apart from the TV show are the higher production values — the film was shot on location at the Lyndhurst Castle in New York, so none of the walls wobble — and the actual acting that the cast gets to do. Jonathan Frid and the others did the best they could under tight TV production schedules, but the luxury of shooting a feature film actually lets them all bring some life to their characters without flubbing their lines. Even Grayson Hall, who always seemed on the verge of hysteria on the show, gets to turn it down a few notches in the movie (although I could not begin to explain what’s going on with her hair). While the movie was released in 1970 (the series ended in 1971), it certainly has a feel of finality to it for the series as [SPOILER ALERT] most of the key characters are dead by the end of the movie. So how does one make a sequel?

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I was in the minority when I gave Tim Burton’s take on the classic TV soap opera Dark Shadows a good review. Was it perfect? No. Was it a complete bastardization of the beloved TV show? Not really, although the real die hard fans felt Burton and company did the source material a complete disservice. Was I happy with the comic tone of the movie? No, but it also wasn’t as bad as the awful trailer made it out to be. However, I did expect more reverence from the show’s super fans, Burton and Johnny Depp.

The film was not the success Warner Brothers had hoped it would be, mainly because the fans were so aghast at what they assumed Burton had done to the show. Even with several original cast members making a group cameo appearance in the film, including original Barnabas Jonathan Frid (who passed away just a month before the film’s release), the fans refused to see the film just because of that infernal trailer. With the movie now available on DVD and Blu-ray, is it worth a first or second look? If you’ve got a Blu-ray player, I would say most definitely.

The home video release is available in several configurations — links for purchase are found at the end of this article — and for reviewing purposes, Warner Brothers has provided CliqueClack with the Blu-ray/DVD combo (which also includes an UltraViolet digital copy). There’s nothing new with the film itself, but the Blu-ray presentation looks just as good as it did on the big screen. Audio options available on the Blu-ray include an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, as well as French, Spanish, and Portuguese options. Subtitles include English (for the hearing impaired), French, Spanish, and Portuguese. The DVD omits both the Portuguese audio and subtitle options.

What makes the Blu-ray the better option are the bonus features. The best feature is the Maximum Movie Mode option which allows you to play the movie with video that pops up throughout the film with interviews from cast and crew, as well as behind-the-scenes footage that coincides with the scene from the movie that is playing. Within this option, you are also prompted when more bonus material is available as a Focus Point. These will stop the film so you can watch the additional material, and then it will resume after that particular piece has finished. The Focus Points can also be viewed separately as well. They include:

• “Becoming Barnabas” — a look at the process Depp went through in creating the character, including how make-up and costumes contribute to the role.
• “Welcome to Collinsport” — a look at the creation of the huge sets built to create a New England fishing village
• “The Collinses: Every Family Has Its Demons” — the actors discuss their roles in the film … and do not watch this if you haven’t seen the movie yet as it gives away key moments from the film’s climax.
• “Reliving a Decade” — a look at how sets, costumes, and hair brought 1972 back to life.
• “Angelique: A Witch Scorned” — Depp and Eva Green discuss the character of Angelique.
• “Alice Cooper Rocks Collinsport” — Burton, Depp and Cooper talk about his role in the film.
• “Dark Shadowy Secrets” — more behind-the-scenes secrets.
• “A Melee of Monstrous Proportions” — a look at the film’s climactic battle between Barnabas, Angelique, and the Collins family (again, giving away the film’s ending).
• “Dark Shadows: The Legend Bites Back” — Depp talks about how he helped bring the TV show to the big screen.

The DVD only includes “The Collinses: Every Family Has Its Demons” as an extra. While all of the Focus Points are interesting and informative, the real highlight of the Blu-ray are the five deleted scenes. Watching these, I had to wonder why any of them were cut. Perhaps Burton or the studio felt they were too dramatic or slowed things down, but I think most, if not all, of them are rather important to the tone of the story.

The first of the deleted scenes features Elizabeth (Michelle Pfieffer) and Dr. Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter) discussing Barnabas. Dr. Hoffman is obviously digging for answers, and Elizabeth is on to Julia’s attempt to psychoanalyze her. For me, it added some depth to the Hoffman character. The second scene shows Barnabas talking with young David about dinosaurs and family. A nice scene that almost humanizes Barnabas. Following that is a scene between Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote) and Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz) that is notable for making the final scene with Carolyn not come so out of left field as it did in the movie. Another scene follows Barnabas’ attack on a group of hippies, and Dr. Hoffman offering Victoria some advice. All really good scenes that could have, and should have, stayed in the final cut of the film.

If you saw Dark Shadows and enjoyed it, you will definitely enjoy the Blu-ray’s special features (while the DVD is pretty bare bones). If you didn’t want to spend the money to see the movie when it was out, give the video version a shot. You might see that it’s not as bad as you thought it was.

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