"House of Dark Shadows"

Just in time for Halloween, House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971) have been released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 30.

I ordered the Blu-ray House of Dark Shadows on Amazon.  I am skipping Night of Dark Shadows (at least for now) as it isn't the once-promised restoration.  It is is the original theatrical jumbled up mess with missing scenes that would have improved the story had they been included.  I remember not liking the movie when I saw it in the theater in 1971.

However, House of Dark Shadows is a gem of a vampire movie.  It features most of the Dark Shadows cast members.  It is a re-telling of the original Barnabas Collins story.  It expands and includes a few twists to the story.

According to Wikipedia:

House of Dark Shadows is a 1970 feature-length horror film directed by Dan Curtis based on his Dark Shadows television series. Filming took place at Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, New York, with additional footage at nearby Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

It stars Jonathan Frid as the guilt-ridden vampire Barnabas.  Other cast members include Grayson Hall, Thayer David, Joan Bennett, Louis Edmonds, Nancy Barrett, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Roger Davis, John Karlen and Donald Briscoe.

House of Dark Shadows was so successful in its initial theatrical release that it virtually rescued the financially-strapped MGM.

Although it has been 42 years since House of Dark Shadows was released, I still remember the trailers on television with the tag line, "See how the vampires do it!"

I would recommend watching House of Dark Shadows before seeing the new Johnny Depp Dark Shadows.