MovieChat Forums > Dark Shadows (1991) Discussion > Could have been better

Could have been better

posted 14 years ago by objim7-608-757815
2 replies | jump to latest

My name is Jim and I live in San Diego. I was very disappointed with the Dark Shadows Revival. I hoped that it would be something completely new that would take up where the original Dark Shadows left off. Instead, it was a combination of remakes of the movie 'House of Dark Shadows' and the second season of the original series. However, it did have good casting. Ben Cross was a good choice for the role of Barnabas Collins. He filled Jonathan Frid's shoes very well. Barbara Steele was a good choice for the role of Dr. Julia Hoffman. She had the right personality for it. She also had the beauty that Grayson Hall lacked. She also played the role of Countess Du Pres, Josette's aunt, very well.Joanna Going was perfect for the roles of Victoria Winters and Josette Du Pres. She's a very talented girl as well as beautiful.

[–] Attillio 12 years ago

I think that Ben Cross was right-on in portraying the cold and malevolent aspect of the character of Barnabas Collins. (Mr. Cross also had a hipper, cooler taste in clothes for Barnabas; that monochromatic black look was particulary sharp looking, instead of the original Barnabas' predictably boring blue-pinstripe suits, imo.)

However, Mr. Cross just did not succeed at all in portraying the courtly, almost "bonhomus Barnabas" aspect of the vampire which the great Jonathan Frid absolutey excelled at in the original series.

[–] ElectricWarlock 10 years ago

They moved very fast through the plots I noticed. Storylines that would take about 2 or 3 weeks to be resolved in the original would be moved through in just one episode of this version. It's really a shame the series didn't continue. Perhaps when they got all the stuff from the original series out of the way, they would've continued with new plots.

Burn, witch! Burn, witch! Burn! Burn! Burn!