Part One. It's as brilliant as I remember. I love David Soul in anything, but James Mason is the one who steals the show here. This first part is reasonably slow, as it's more concerned with setting-up the story and the cast of characters. Soul plays a writer returning to his old hometown to write a book. He looks up an old friend, and falls for a local girl. He's been drawn back by a spooky old house, a house he feels is evil. There are several genuinely spooky moments.
Part Two. The story really kicks into high gear in part 2. Plenty of action. Plenty of deaths. And the leader of the vampires makes his appearance. Some motivations aren't clear/convincing but the rapid pace means you don't have time to overthink why some characters are doing some (dumb) things. At times, everything veers dangerously close to being unintentionally funny but Hooper always keeps it from going right over the edge. Mostly because the majority of jumps and scares work perfectly. It really is gripping, edge-the-seat stuff. And the downbeat ending is a big plus.
Originally aired by CBS in November '79, the BBC sure got their money's worth when they bought this one: they showed it in September '81, August '83 and August '85.
Part Two. The story really kicks into high gear in part 2. Plenty of action. Plenty of deaths. And the leader of the vampires makes his appearance. Some motivations aren't clear/convincing but the rapid pace means you don't have time to overthink why some characters are doing some (dumb) things. At times, everything veers dangerously close to being unintentionally funny but Hooper always keeps it from going right over the edge. Mostly because the majority of jumps and scares work perfectly. It really is gripping, edge-the-seat stuff. And the downbeat ending is a big plus.
Originally aired by CBS in November '79, the BBC sure got their money's worth when they bought this one: they showed it in September '81, August '83 and August '85.