The memories of the nightmare this movie gave me 36 years ago when I first saw it were still fresh last week when I had a chance to revisit it on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Although not as frightening as I remember it (I was eight the first time, however) it is a nicely lurid, Gothic chiller based on the popular soap opera series about the vampire, Barnabas Collins, and his clan. In this movie, Barnabas is resurrected by a handyman intent on some measure of revenge against the Collins clan; Barnabas passes himself off as a long-lost relative and soon finds himself falling in love and teaming up with a doctor intent on "curing" his vampirism. The movie is quite bloody and I can see what was so frightening about it (for 1970), but it definitely has held up well and is still a worthy addition to anyone's horror collection.
Review of House of Dark Shadows
