Dark Shadows: DVD Collection 5 (1968)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Sam Hall, Joe Caldwell, Ralph Ellis, Gordon Russell, Ron Sproat, Francis Swann, Art Wallace and Violet Welles
Directed by Dan Curtis, Pennberry Jones, Dennis Kane, Henry Kaplan, John Sedwick, Jack Sullivan, Sean Dhu Sullivan, Lela Swift, and John Weaver
Starring Jonathan Frid, Joan Bennett, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Louis Edmonds, Nancy Barrett, David Henesy, Lara Parker, Clarice Blackburn, Anthony George, Grayson Hall, Joel Crothers, and David Ford

Features:

• Cast and crew interviews
  
• Collector’s postcard
  

Released by: MPI
Region: 1
Rating: NR, safe for all ages.
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: Get it and watch it over and over.

Dark Shadows continues with this new box set containing forty more episodes of suspense, true love, revenge, black magic, and pure innocence. Back in time, in the year 1795, Angelique (Parker) continues her scheming to make Barnabas (Frid) hers by making Ben Stokes (Thayer David) her slave. She uses Ben to steal a lock of Josette's (Scott) hair, in the hopes of using this hair in a spell to make Josette forsake Barnabas for Jeremiah (George), which seems to work. Natalie (Hall) becomes wrapped up in this as she catches onto Angelique's scheme and sees Josette and Jeremiah together. Natalie’s suspicions about Victoria continue to grow, and the wretched fanatic Reverend Trask (Jerry Lacy) arrives on the scene to "purify" the newly built Old House. Angelique uses her dark magics to transform her enemies and control her friends and casts an evil spell of vampirism on Barnabas, but can she really change the course of true love? What can be done to stop her?

In this set, the plot thickens as Angelique reveals her evil more clearly to the audience, and the people around her are all just innocent, if at times foolish, pawns. We learn a lot more about Barnabas' real character, as well as how Victoria fits into all of this, as an accused witch and person out of time. Through Victoria's eyes, our fellow time traveler, we get to see the people of old Collinwood for what they really are and delight in her unraveling of the mysteries surrounding this family.

Another great thing about this set is its physical format. This kind of case is a great, convenient way to store and access several discs (four in this case), as opposed to floppy, hard-to-manage wallet-style box sets.

The features are on par with the former sets in this series; we get a fantastic interview with actor Jonathan Frid, who is just delightful, as well as interviews with other actors--Kathryn Leigh Scott and Jerry Lacy. There is even a good conversation with the composer, Robert Cobert, that does a great job of educating us about how important music is for any show, but especially for a mood-dependent series like this.

Overall, if you enjoy vampire tales, good gothic tales of suspense, or just interesting character dramas, then you will thrill to the intrigue in Dark Shadows. It may seem a bit cheesy and melodramatic at times, but that’s part of its charm. The fact that it's live TV adds a freshness and immediacy to the show that cannot be faked, and the actors really get into their roles and play them to the hilt. It’s great, campy fun that's actually even good beyond the camp, with creative situations, plot twists, and real courage, given the time it originally aired.