Directed by Dan Curtis, this film is a feature-length, big-screen expansion of his hit Gothic soap opera, Dark Shadows. It took the series’ supernatural elements and elevated them with a more aggressive, cinematic horror style—unconstrained by the technical and content limitations of daytime television.
The Synopsis
The story begins with the arrival of a mysterious relative, Barnabas Collins, at the gloomy Collinwood estate in Maine. Barnabas claims to be a cousin from England, but in reality, he is a 200-year-old vampire who has been inadvertently released from his chained coffin by a bumbling caretaker.
While the Collins family welcomes him into their home, Barnabas becomes obsessed with Maggie Evans, the family’s governess, whom he believes is the reincarnation of his long-lost fiancée, Josette. Hoping to rid himself of his vampiric curse and live a normal life with Maggie, Barnabas enlists the help of Dr. Julia Hoffman, a scientist who attempts to cure his condition through a series of experimental blood transfessions. However, when professional jealousy and the uncontrollable nature of his bloodlust collide, the estate is plunged into a cycle of violence. As the bodies pile up, the secret of the “cousin from England” threatens to destroy the entire Collins lineage.
Cast & Crew
| Role | Name |
| Director | Dan Curtis |
| Barnabas Collins | Jonathan Frid |
| Elizabeth Collins Stoddard | Joan Bennett |
| Dr. Julia Hoffman | Grayson Hall |
| Maggie Evans | Kathryn Leigh Scott |
| Jeff Clark | Roger Davis |
| Willie Loomis | John Karlen |
Production Notes
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A Bloodier Vision: Because the film was released theatrically, Dan Curtis was able to include the graphic violence and blood that the TV censors would never allow, making this one of the more intense Gothic horror films of the early ’70s.
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The Original Cast: Fans of the show were thrilled to see the entire television cast reprise their roles on the big screen, though the film exists in its own continuity and moves at a much faster, more lethal pace than the series.
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Location: The movie was filmed on location at Lyndhurst, a massive Gothic Revival mansion in Tarrytown, New York, which provided the perfect, eerie atmosphere for the ancestral home of the Collins family.
