Dark Shadows Appreciation Forum

[JonWes]

Big Fish was great. I should re-watch it. One of my favorite Tim Burton film's, though, was Sleepy Hollow. I watched that over and over. I loved the design and feel of it.

I was pretty disappointed by Alice. It looked pretty, but I was a bit bored by it.

[Barbecue17]

Big Fish was great. I should re-watch it. One of my favorite Tim Burton film's, though, was Sleepy Hollow. I watched that over and over. I loved the design and feel of it.
I was pretty disappointed by Alice. It looked pretty, but I was a bit bored by it.

Big Fish and Sleepy Hollow are two of my favorite Tim Burton movies, as well. I've always been a big Tim Burton fan and while some of his recent projects have not excited me as much as his older stuff (I think I would have liked Sweeney Todd more if it weren't a musical) I really don't see much justification for all the TB hate lately. It feels to me that he pretty much does what he's always done- projects that interest him. Sure, he probably gets more opportunity to do projects he wants, leading him to bigger films, but I really don't see him as the "sell out" that some people label him as.

I'm interested in checking this out when I get home. My wife is a HUGE Tim Burton fan but this movie really doesn't seem to interest her too much. Not quite sure why: maybe because she wasn't at all familiar with Dark Shadows. (I'm not really familiar other than some old trading cards my grandfather gave me from a flea market back in the 80's. They were based off of the original series.

[Penny Dreadful]

Are you guys at all familiar with Big Finish? They do full audio plays for properties like Doctor Who, but they also do dramatic readings of new Dark Shadows stories. I haven't listened to any of those yet, but their other work is superbly done and very atmospheric. Fans of DS might like those too.

Yep, Big Finish has done some good stuff with the audio dramas. The best, IMO, is the Dark Shadows: Kingdom of the Dead miniseries. It features actors from the original series, the '91 series, and even the unaired CW 2004 pilot in a tale starring the likes of David Warner.

[Thatman]

Big Fish and Sleepy Hollow are two of my favorite Tim Burton movies, as well.

I love Sleepy Hollow as well - I just wasn't counting Burton's stuff from the nineties. I think I was fine with most of his stuff until around '02, '03 or so. At some point it seems he became incapable of directing a movie not starring Depp & Carter.

I've never really gotten into Dark Shadows...it was always 'one of those things' I kept meaning to check out, and somehow haven't gotten around to. Maybe now is the time.

[JonWes]

We should have a Dark Shadows viewing club on the ORG! I was going to start up watching it. It'd be fun to hear others thoughts as they watched the episodes too.

[Barbecue17]

We should have a Dark Shadows viewing club on the ORG! I was going to start up watching it. It'd be fun to hear others thoughts as they watched the episodes too.

It is on Netflix, right? If so, I may try to watch an episode or two tonight. I've always been a bit interested in it but have never actually seen it.

[BCreviews4628]

Oh wow, I was a huge fan of the series, and I'm in the process of getting a tattoo of Barnabas on my back. I was excited for this movie, but it's just not doing it for me. I didn't expect Burton to go the Brady Bunch/Beverley Hillbillies movie approach to this.

Very disappointed. I'll stick to my beloved classics.

[gbagok]

Depp as Barnabas looks suspiciously like Stuart Townsend from Queen of the Damned with Klarion the Witch Boy's bangs.

I have friends who remember Dark Shadows as a comedy because of the camp and--they say--laughable production values. I guess that's how the makers of this decided to approach it, but no I would be very angry if that's how someone decided to present He-Man and She-Ra to modern audiences. I'd at least like to be entertained, but I admit that I don't much like modern horror. Even the Lady in Black looked tedious to me, and very gray. In a world where Saw and Human Centipede are all the rage, I don't know that I'd like an attempt to make Dark Shadows appeal to that audience. Oddly this looks like the most straightforward comedy that Tim Burton has made since Beeteljuice, but that could be deceptive. I remember some Sweeney Todd commercials playing up the humor, and sure there was some in the movie, but it was too gory and dark to be a comedy like The Addam's Family. Now there's a show I'd like to see, ever Depp character ever meeting the Addams Family.

[Divia]

I think the 90s series took itsels seriously. Or I remember it being that way. I could be wrong. Never saw the original. But I will say this, I don't like what I am seeing. It looks like a cheesy dumb comedy.

I personally think they took it in the wrong direction.

[JonWes]

Just watched episodes 1 & 2 last night! They were really great. The actor who played Willie Loomis had a wonderfully expressive and mad face. I can't believe they took two episodes to introduce the main character. I am loving the spookiness and even the pace. They just throw you right into the story and make you figure out what's going on. The painting of Barnabas is practically a character in itself! It's wonderfully done and spooky. Poor Joan Bennett sure does seem to fluff her lines quite a bit. Thankfully she's marvelous in the role.

Also, I didn't catch the name of the guy who plays the guy who is trying to pay off Willie Loomis to go away, but he's wonderful to watch as a performer. I really liked his obvious irritation with the caretaker of the cemetery. I don't mind saying that I actually jumped (my surround sound might have helped) when Loomis started to attach the pulley to pull chain on the statue and suddenly stopped and the heart beat sound kicked in. Really wonderfully creepy. Looking forward to more.

[Penny Dreadful]

Oh wow, I was a huge fan of the series, and I'm in the process of getting a tattoo of Barnabas on my back. I was excited for this movie, but it's just not doing it for me. I didn't expect Burton to go the Brady Bunch/Beverley Hillbillies movie approach to this.

Very disappointed. I'll stick to my beloved classics.

Would love to see your Barnabas tat once you get it!!!

They just throw you right into the story and make you figure out what's going on.

The show actually aired for 10 months before Barnabas' arrival. Netflix starts off with the Barnabas episodes because that's when the show really hit its stride. In the very early episodes, it was very "Jane Eyre" gothic romance and implied supernatural stuff. Eventually, they showed an actual ghost and then did a storyline with a supernatural being based on the legend of the Phoenix. The ratings started going up because of that. After the phoenix, Barnabas came along and the show hit it big. The series proceeded to go in all kinds of crazy directions (with ups and downs) after that.

Also, I didn't catch the name of the guy who plays the guy who is trying to pay off Willie Loomis to go away, but he's wonderful to watch as a performer.

Jason Maguire. He's great.

[Mr_Yuck]

Penny hit it right on the head. This movie appears to be a huge slap in the face to fans of DS. The direction of the film reeks of some studio head's decision who has no concept or appreciation for what Dark Shadows was and still is to many fans.

Tim Burton has really lost some cred with me for this. He hasn't wowed me with his recent work, but I expected a hell of a lot better than this coming from a self professed fan. I really just don't get it. In looking ahead, if this film flops like I suspect it may, this move will only ensure that no studio will want to touch Dark Shadows for another 20 years

[TheShadow]

Just watched episodes 1 & 2 last night! They were really great. The actor who played Willie Loomis had a wonderfully expressive and mad face. I can't believe they took two episodes to introduce the main character. I am loving the spookiness and even the pace. They just throw you right into the story and make you figure out what's going on. The painting of Barnabas is practically a character in itself! It's wonderfully done and spooky. Poor Joan Bennett sure does seem to fluff her lines quite a bit. Thankfully she's marvelous in the role.

If you want to know what happened before Barnabas came along:

Also, I didn't catch the name of the guy who plays the guy who is trying to pay off Willie Loomis to go away, but he's wonderful to watch as a performer.

That is Jason McGuire.

Penny hit it right on the head. This movie appears to be a huge slap in the face to fans of DS. The direction of the film reeks of some studio head's decision who has no concept or appreciation for what Dark Shadows was and still is to many fans.

I sent my Aunt the trailer, who was a HUGE DS fan growing up. Even well in to the 90s she had a Barnabas poster in her closet and she still had all the original novels and things.

Anyway, after she saw the trailer she said: "I may have to see that - but not compare it to the real one! I'm actually glad they didn't try to imitate the original. It coudn't have been done - successfully at least."

[JonWes]

Ah, thanks for the educatin' folks. That makes more sense. How silly of Netflix. I want to see them from the start! I saw that it said something like episode 210 or 211 or something, but I thought maybe that was just a production number!

The video was a help, at least.

UK Trailer out. Still a wacky comedy. I know some were clinging to the hope it might have just been edited wackily.

[Dave-Man]

Well, they did market Marley and Me as a comedy, for instance. They really shouldn't have done that. I expected it to be funny and parts of it was but by the end I was like "BWAAAH!" A good movie, yes, I loved it, but not a comedy. Somehow, though, I doubt they are doing that with this.

[TheShadow]

UK Trailer out. Still a wacky comedy. I know some were clinging to the hope it might have just been edited wackily.

I don't like how Elizabeth knows this "legend" about him being turned in to a vampire. I rather like the angle they used on the tv show and how it was so eerie the unknown cousin from England happens to be a spitting imagine of the "original" Barnabas.

Here's another tv spot with some more scenes:

[krosfyah]

Imagine if some huge director made a big-budget, high profile He-Man movie, then decided to take the Mo-Larr sketch from Robot Chicken to use as a template for the film. Based on this trailer, that's essentially what Burton has done here. To me, it plays as a huge slap in the face to the legacy of Dan Curtis and I don't get how two guys who claim to be massive fans of the show could do this. DS is gothic horror, gothic romance, and dark fantasy. It's not... this. .

I've NEVER seen an episode of the original, I'm not much of a horror fan to be honest, but I can see your point, I feel more so if someone took the corniest stuff from filmation (I'm a big filmation fan and see the awesome stuff that was there outside of the corn) and based the movie around that. I'd be SO let down.

that said as an outsider this DS stuff actually interests me a bit. but again and I apologize I'm WAY more into comedy than horror. On the other hand, since I'm NOT a fan of the series, they shouldn't be playing to me, even if I see this and love it, it's not going to drive me to merchandise etc. I hate when they disregard the franchise fans for the wider audience. it's not fair, even if I enjoy it, I feel bad for the hardcore.

That said I LOVED Big Fish. FANTASTIC film!

[Divia]

It still looks as stupid as ever. Pass. Or Fail. However you wish to look at it.

[SCB]

If you want bad marketing, look at the Catfish. It's marketed as Blair Witch, but it's actually a sweet story normal story.

[Dave-Man]

I see this as more of a parody of the original show than a remake. Much like I could stand, and would probably love a comic parody of MOTU, although it would be kind of sad if that got the budget and a serious remake did not. Heck, sometimes I write comic parody of MOTU, although it has been a while...

[TheShadow]

After listening to the soundtrack (Danny Elfman's score), I am thinking the movie is definitely being marketed as much more of a comedy than it actually is. I really love the score, even though as far as I could tell there was no direct re-make of the original Dark Shadows theme... which still brings chills to my spine when I hear it. I hope it shows up in the movie.

[Divia]

I wonder why they went with the comedy angle when you know there is a huge fan base. wouldn't this just annoy or upset that said fanbase. I would have seen it...but not now. And I' not a hardcore fan.

[TheShadow]

RIP Barnabas

Original 'Dark Shadows' Barnabas Collins actor dies



Jonathan Frid, who played the vampire Barnabas Collins on the TV series Dark Shadows, has died in Canada. He was 87.

Digital Spy reports that the actor died of natural causes at Juravinski Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, on Friday (the 13th).

Dark Shadows aired on ABC from June 1966 to April 1971. Frid also starred in the 1973 television movie The Devil's Daughter and 1974 horror film Seizure.

Frid's final acting credit is a cameo he filmed for Tim Burton's May 4 remake of Dark Shadows, which stars Johnny Depp as Barnabas.

Kathryn Leigh Scott, who played Maggie Evans and Josette duPres on Dark Shadows opposite Frid, paid tribute to her friend of "more than 40 years" on her website.

"I am so grateful to have worked with Jonathan and to have known him as the charismatic, entertaining, complex and plain spoken man that he was. What fun we had working together! He was irascible, irreverent, funny, caring, lovable and thoroughly professional, and in the end became the whole reason why kids ran home from school to watch Dark Shadows."

[Dave-Man]

Oh man. What a sad day for Dark Shadows.

RIP Jonathan, may your afterlife be more pleasant than the one you portrayed on TV.

[Penny Dreadful]

Such a sad day. I met Mr. Frid once at a reader's theatre performance he gave at Brown University. He was gracious and kind. His Barnabas was iconic and really gave me so much joy and several scares growing up. May he rest in peace.