Revisiting DARK SHADOWS (1991)

Gloriously over-the top

I’ve been on a DARK SHADOWS kick. I’m well into the 300’s on the original series, and decided to re-visit the 1991 revival series, which I watched when it aired and hadn’t seen since ‘91.

Despite some over-the-top acting, DARK SHADOWS ‘91 is a worthy follow-up to the Jonathan Frid melodrama of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Ben Cross steps into Barnabas’s trench coat with ease and is often terrifying - especially in his reprimands of Willie, his hapless servant, played by Jim Fyfe (who fares better later in the series than the pilot).

DARK SHADOWS follows the familiar storyline of the original - Barnabas released from his coffin by a jewel-hunting Willie Loomis, a curse, a lost love, and the insanely wealthy Collins family.

My one complaint is that it’s too familiar to anyone who watched the original series. I would have loved a few new threads mixed with the main Barnabas storyline from the Frid melodrama. In the end, this is a facelift with a “modern” spin.

I enjoyed DARK SHADOWS ‘91, both then and now. It’s worth a re-visit (available on YouTube), and it’s a shame it didn’t have a longer life (pun intended). The Gulf War coverage put a nail in the DARK SHADOWS coffin and it ends rather abruptly.

I tried watching the 2004 pilot and hated everything about it and turned it off in about 15 minutes. It looks and feels like Michael Mann’s MANHUNTER compared to THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS with a lot less originality and grit. It has the colors of MIAMI VICE and zero atmosphere - which is synonymous with DARK SHADOWS.

It’s been 21 years since there’s been a DARK SHADOWS meant for television, and maybe it’s time Barnabas Collins rises again.