Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
1795 Flashback Continues!, October 19, 2003
1795 adventures continue in Dark Shadows DVD Collection 6 (VHS Volumes 37-44). In these episodes, Barnabas Collins rises as a vampire and unleashes terror throughout Collinsport. Knowing that he can't go on hurting people, Barnabas begs family servant Ben Stokes to drive a stake through his heart. Ben can't bring himself to do it, however. Barnabas secretly sees Josette and they agree to spend eternity together as vampires. Before he can take her away, Angelique lures her to Widows Hill, where Josette sees a vision of herself as a vampire and she jumps to her death. Naomi Collins attempts to prevent Lt. Nathan Forbes from marrying Millicent Collins (he only wants her for her money). In Victoria's witchcraft trial, Reverend Trask convinces Nathan to testify against Victoria. Nathan betrays Victoria and she is found guilty of witchcraft. Barnabas vows revenge against Trask.Bonuses include interviews with Roger Davis (Peter Bradford), Lara Parker (Angelique), Louis Edmonds (Joshua Collins), and scenic designer Sy Tomashoff.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Can't beat the price and good quality, June 26, 2003
If you're a fan of the old series and were made bankrupt by the price of dark shadows on vhs, this is the perfect solution. I've been a fan since I was a young child, which happened to be after the original run, but only by a year or two. The interviews at the end are mostly good, some are really lame, like Lara Parker's soliloquy (sp?) on vampires and the sexual beings that they are. But, others give real insight into the show, including the ones with Jonathan Frid and Kathryn Leigh Scott. It wasn't until these videos that I saw an up to date picture of Frid. He's better looking now than he was then. The quality of the video is very good, I would call it above average. There are still some kinescope episodes, but that will never be helped. At least we have something. I highly recommend this series.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The curse starts to have its full effect; Victoria goes on trial, May 18, 2006
The 175-year-old vampire Barnabas Collins (Shakespearean actor Jonathan Frid) who turned the soap opera DARK SHADOWS from forgettable to famous was originally supposed to be dealt with and disposed of entirely in the present day. The events of 1795 that made Barnabas a vampire and took away his true love Josette were to serve only as a back story. But Barnabas's popularity changed the plan. He was spared the hammer-and-stake treatment, viewers were transported to 1795, and that back story became the main plot.
This installment continues the 1795 sequence from a point shortly after Barnabas becomes a vampire. Angelique's curse starts having its intended effect as those who love Barnabas die. and at long last, we see Josette's suicide -- the big event we've been hearing about for so long. After all the buildup, this could have been a disappointment, but in my opinion, it wasn't.
What DIDN'T work for me was the "Monkey's Paw" variation involving Josette's ghost. It's a nice little shocker but with three problems. First, anyone familiar with the original W.W. Jacobs short story will see that DS missed the point -- that what's imagined is much more terrifying than what's actually seen. Jacobs never shows the THING behind the door, but when Josette lifts her veil, we see her mangled face in all its gory glory. Second, this sequence doesn't go anywhere. Barnabas realizes he goofed, sends Josette back to her grave, and that's that. Third, after we've seen EVERYTHING up to this point, it's frustrating to have Barnabas send Josette back off-screen.
One person who escapes Angelique's curse is Barmabas's father, Joshua Collins -- ironically, because of a flaw in his character. Joshua is a hardened, cold-hearted man who is incapable of loving anyone, including his own son. The curse said that anyone who loved Barnabas would die. Because Joshua can't love Barnabas, the curse can't touch him.
I find Joshua's reaction to Barnabas interesting because it's so much a product of his character. Joshua believes it's his right to be in charge and in control, and can't stand having that right violated. So, when confronted with the incomprehensible and unspeakable horror of his son being a vampire (in #447), Joshua HAS to take charge. He pretty much blackmails Barnabas into letting himself be locked in the tower room at Collinwood. (And I feel there's a plausibility problem here. Would it be possible to drag that coffin all the way up to the tower room?)
I was also interested to see the non-supernatural storyline involving Suki Forbes, Nathan's not-quite-ex-wife, who shows up to blackmail him. To some extent, this sequence, along with all the subsequent nastiness between Nathan and Millicent, recalls the pre-Barnabas portion of DS, which was more about mystery and intrigue than horror.
The other major storyline is the witch trial of Victoria Winters, our involuntary time traveler. Her prosecutor is the self-ordained, fanatical witch hunter, Reverend Trask. Her defender is a young prison employee and aspiring lawyer named Peter Bradford, who is fast becoming the new love of her life.
Trask blackmails Nathan Forbes into giving false testimony, and I've heard this cited as evidence that Trask's motives are not quite so pure as he would have everyone believe. I would argue, however, that those who are convinced they're on the side of righteousness can justify any action in the name of righteousness. And rather than maligning Christians, this incident shows Trask as a miserable excuse for one because of his ego. The true Christian would ask God to let the truth be revealed, even if that meant losing the case.
Angelique, the real witch, discredits Ben Stokes on the witness stand. The other eyewitnesses to the truth is Barnabas, who cares for Victoria, but apparently not quite enough to reveal himself. Granted, he doesn't want to dishonor his family and traumatize his mother, but I still see a large portion of self-preservation in the mix.
Yes, Barnabas does torture and murder Trask for persecuting Victoria -- and I feel the "Cask of Amontillado" variation is more effective than the "Monkey's Paw" variation -- but this seems like an attempt to compensate for what should have been done. Furthermore, murdering Trask is foolish because there's then no way to substantiate his written statement that Victoria is innocent.
We discover how dangerous Angelique is when "good witch" Bathia Mapes is destroyed while trying to lift the curse. It's a powerful moment dramatically, but I'm sorry to say I find the special effect less than convincing because it looks suspiciously like a close-up of a welder's torch. It would have been more convincing if Anita Bolster had actually sounded like she was in agony instead of like she'd seen a mouse.
The bonus interview with Lara Parker is the most entertaining one in this set, being practically a one-woman show -- complete with candles and red tablecloth -- wherein she waxes poetic about the vampire myth.
The Sy Tomashoff interview is the most interesting from an informational standpoint. Tomashoff discusses the sets for DS and how they were constructed to much higher standards than other television sets of the time.
Roger Davis rubbed me the wrong way by talking about his pranks on other actors. He seemed rather pleased with himself, but if I'd been one of those actors, I wouldn't have been amused. The interview with Louis Edmonds depressed me because he appeared to be in such bad shape. I'm guessing this was one of the last things he did before he passed away.
In the next installment, Barnabas's arch enemy follows him to the present, and the modern-day version of another famous horror story begins.
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