Halloween Countdown Film #20... Dark Shadows

 

"His name is Barnabas Collins, and he was the finest man the family ever knew."

 

~Elizabeth Collins Stoddard

Dark Shadows

 

When you were a kid, did you run home from school every day, to watch what would happen next in the town of Collinsport, Maine? And at Collinwood, the stately home of the Collins family, specifically. There were ghosts, witches, vampires, werewolves, and more, running around that town, but that was the series that aired on afternoon tv, This movie is about the main guy himself, Barnabas, and the tragic love triangle of he, Victoria Winters, and of course, the witch, Angelique Bouchard. Barnabas did have his troubles, didn't he? This movie doesn't take itself as serious, as the series did, which is a good thing. Dark Shadows was, well, dark, and odd, this movie brings the humor, as it makes fun of all the things, that made Dark Shadows odd. Like, why was there no modern music, or any references to current events, politics or cultural art? Hell, I was just so busy waiting to see what spooky thing might happen next, that I never noticed that something was missing. So watch this movie for the nostalgia, but also for the stuff that we never knew we needed... fun!

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard:
What do you think of the President?

Victoria Winters:
Never met him.

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard:

What do you think of the war?

Victoria Winters:
I don't watch television.

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard:
Do you think the sexes should be equal?

Victoria Winters:
Heavens, no. Men would become quite unmanageable.

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard:
I think we're going to get along fine.

 

 

Angelique Bouchard, Of Collinsport Maine

 

"I set a curse upon you, Barnabas Collins! You wanted your Josette so much, well, you have her but not the way that you would have chosen. You will never rest, Barnabas! And you will never be able to love anyone for whoever loves you will die. That is my curse, and you will live with it through all eternity!"

 

~Angelique Bouchard

(Lara Parker)

Dark Shadows (TV)

 Angelique: Oh Barnabas. if we could simply begin again. Will you never forget?

 Barnabas: No, I will not.

 

Rest in peace, Lara Parker. I first came to know of Angelique Bouchard, Parker's signature role, when I was a child. My mother, sister and I would sit glued to our tv each weekday, to see the spooky goings on in Collinsport, the fictional town featured in the gothic daytime drama, Dark Shadows. The blend of romance, especially the love Angelique had for Barnabas Collins, and the horror, there were vampires, ghosts and werewolves after all, was pretty much equal, however, Lara Parker portrayed a character unequaled as the, over the top witch, Angelique Bouchard Collins. She scared the crap out of me, but I wished I could grow to be as beautiful as Lara Parker was. I loved horror, and the show gave me genuine nightmares, my sister too, and yet by today's standards the show was as low tech as it got. Still, who ever needed special affects to be scared? The scares Dark Shadows provided came from the story and the perfect, if not campy, acting.Who knew campy could give one nightmares?

 

 

 Dark Shadows debuted on June 27th, 1966, just 2 days before my 4th birthday. My mother and sister probably shouldn't have allowed me to watch it, but in truth, the rascal in me would have found a way. A prime-time version which aired in the 1990's, only made it a few episodes, despite being a decent and much more serious take, but I was there glued to every episode. In 2012 director Time Burton decided to take it to a more comedic slant, and again, I was there. The irony was great. The camp was great. And a few genuine spooky moments all came together to honor the original show, and still keep the history intact. I was getting another chance to see my friends again. Including Lara Parker. She, David Selby, Katherine Leigh Scott and Jonathon Frid all had cameos as party guests at Collinwood. It was fun. I had hoped for a sequel, but alas it was not to be.

 

David Selby and Lara Parker

( ABC TV movie, Night Of Dark Shadows)

 Oh my, I never read the novels Lara Parker wrote after the show went off the air, but I might just indulge a bit and purchase one. I would love to see what happened next in Collinsport. That is the sign of a great movie, show or actress, you always want to see more, and I always watched whatever Lara Parker was in. Kolchak: The Night Stalker. The Rockford Files. Race With The Devil. It was all good.The one that got away from me was, Save The Tiger, with Jack Lemmon. If I can finally find it, that will be next. She won't be playing a witch, but I am sure she will great. She always was. In fact, TCM is playing both te

 

 

Rest in gentle peace, Lara... and Angelique.

October 27th 1938 - October 12th 2023

Round Robin Challenge: Fun, Fun, Fun + APAD: Day~10

“Give them pleasure. The same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare."


~Alfred Hitchcock

Killing two projects with one photo...


Round Robin Challenge, and Day 10 of APAD For 6 Months


Movie Review: Dark Shadows (Spoiler Alert)

The new Tim Burton film, Dark Shadows is finally here. Yes, I know it came out a week ago, and if I could have gone to see it sooner I would have, as I have been eagerly awaiting the movie's release for a long time. 40 years to be exact. So when Hollywood began doing do-overs of old movies and TV, I knew it was just a matter of time before I got to see my old friend Barnabus Collins, and the whole crazy Collins clan once again. When I was a kid, I ran home from school every day to watch Dark Shadows... who didn't? And when it was cancelled it left a huge hole in my afternoons. It was a delicious distraction from the craziness of my own family, and a nice escape from the deep heartache of watching my big brother go off to Vietnam.

Rather than thinking about my brother's absence, I plunged into all the wonderful characters of Dark Shadows. My favorite character was the witch Angelique Bouchard. Actress Lara Parker was so beautiful and glamorous to me, and her portrayal of Angelique gave me nightmares. Delicious, scary, creepy nightmares, but I always preferred them to the nightmares of my family's constant fighting, and my brother's absence. My mother fell into a deep depression after he left, and my father became quiet distant, and at times downright hostile. My sister being 10 years older than I, had her own interests, which is normal, but it left me lonely. Dark Shadows was there every day to keep me not just entertained, but served to stimulate and inspire my imagination as well. I used to wonder what it would be like to walk through the town of Collinsport, Maine. What would it be like to actually talk to Barnabus Collins. Scary? Nah... he was a good guy deep down, but he was also a tortured soul to be sure.

When I found out that Johnny Depp was to play Barnabus, I thought it was strange casting. Barnabus was a bit older, and Johnny Depp is usually a bit... well... goofy. Could he do the part justice? You bet he did! He bought a dimension to Barnabus that hadn't occurred to me before. Depp's Barnabus was indeed a bit goofy, but frankly, it was the part of Barnabus should have been there from the start. A bit of a fish out of water, his transition into modern times was a wonderful flight of fancy. The original Barnabus seemed to fit in rather easily, in fact a bit too easily. I enjoyed watching Depp's Barnabus become accustomed to life in 1972. Everything was different, music, fashion, culture, values, mode of transportation, even food had changed, but what was a vampire to do? It was time to sink or swim. And swim he did!

I kinda had to admire the modern day Barnabus for his courage. He was a man...a vampire with a mission. The marvelous choices of music from the time, kept the movie funky, while we watched Barnabus strive to fit into the new world he had found himself in. I loved the use of every piece of music, and cultural references were spot on. So, while I really thoroughly enjoyed the movie, there were things it lacked. While it did deliver some wonderfully campy thrills, and stuck fairly close to the original story, I missed some of the most quaint elements of the original. Where was Josette's theme? Her music box was a HUGE part of the original storytelling. And I would have loved to have seen the movie do more flashbacks in time, to show the great romance that was Barnabus and Josette. I think it would have been good to have seen Barnabus's dalliance with Angelique, and the heartbreak his rejection brought her. She was a woman scorned, and it would have been good to have seen why. Angelique had cursed Barnabus for a reason, and it was an all too common reason, good old fashioned heartbreak. And that is what made the whole situation so relatable. Who can't identify with heartbreak?

The rest of the movie was well cast, especially Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, but over all the actors and the characters seemed to lack the same amazing chemistry of the original cast.

So, while I enjoyed the new movie, which completely stands on it's own, I will always love the original more.

I give it **** kernels of popcorn out of ***** Seriously... go see it!

Me :)

Okie Doke, That's my posting for both the Round Robin Photo Challenge and my new project APAD For 6 Months. If you would like to join in either meme, you are more than welcome to do so. Click here to be redirected to the official Round Robin blog where you will find all you need to know about playing along. As for my project, just post a photo and come back to the comment thread of this entry with the direct link back to it. I will post your link with tomorrow's posting.


 See you tomorrow!