Shown only in the 2005 Dark Shadows festival in Los Angeles, this remake of the 1960's Gothic day time series - yes, a Gothic soap and a deserved classic! - is surprisingly good. Sets of the Collinwood manor and the mausoleum where the vampire Barnabas Collins is found are wonderful and very atmospheric, so is the idea of using Halloween as the night when the story is opening. Alexis Thorpe has a striking screen presence and I would have loved to see her in a much more prominent role. She would have made lovely Victoria Winters! Cast of the young models like Asian Julia Hoffman (Kelly Hu) is never more than OK and will probably be too much to the fans of the original, but I loved the Gothic atmosphere. And I mean Gothic, not Goth, thank you! Little rough around the edges - hey, it was a rough cut! - this is a gem I would love to own in DVD.
Review of Dark Shadows
