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Post by Audio Watchdog on May 2, 2017 21:06:27 GMT
Excellent piece by Wallace McBride in The Collinsport Historical Society making the case that House of Dark Shadows is an American giallo. Read it, right here. I think Wallace makes some interesting points but to me it feels like he is closer to the mark when he mentions Hammer's Scars of Dracula. The thing about Scars, and House of Dark Shadows, is, from my perspective, both films seem to be more dark fantasies about what a vampire movie is supposed to be like. Scars of Dracula has always been an oddball movie from the House of Horror, and is generally disliked for it, but it has always had this dreamlike, almost fever dream aspect to it that I have always responded well to. I feel the same way about HoDS. In his rush to tell several weeks worth of story in two hours, and to tell a story that a lot of people already knew, Dan Curtis compressed & twisted the story in a way that feels very off-kilter & disorientating to me. It's a world we kind of recognize with characters we think we know but it plays out in a way that doesn't completely make sense. Anyway, the piece is very much worth a read. And congrats to the Collinsport Historical Society on another Rondo nomination! |
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2017 22:42:46 GMT
Excellent piece by Wallace McBride in The Collinsport Historical Society making the case that House of Dark Shadows is an American giallo. Read it, right here. I think Wallace makes some interesting points but to me it feels like he is closer to the mark when he mentions Hammer's Scars of Dracula. The thing about Scars, and House of Dark Shadows, is, from my perspective, both films seem to be more dark fantasies about what a vampire movie is supposed to be like. Scars of Dracula has always been an oddball movie from the House of Horror, and is generally disliked for it, but it has always had this dreamlike, almost fever dream aspect to it that I have always responded well to. I feel the same way about HoDS. In his rush to tell several weeks worth of story in two hours, and to tell a story that a lot of people already knew, Dan Curtis compressed & twisted the story in a way that feels very off-kilter & disorientating to me. It's a world we kind of recognize with characters we think we know but it plays out in a way that doesn't completely make sense. Anyway, the piece is very much worth a read. And congrats to the Collinsport Historical Society on another Rondo nomination! I have not yet seen the article (I'll read it tomorrow when I have more time) but, what a fascinating notion that is. I'm in a giallo-watching 'phase' at the moment, and had never noticed any similarities. But now I think about it ... Actually, Night of Dark Shadows is, to my mind, much more 'giallo' than the earlier film - a young woman in the grip of some unknown evil protagonist is very reminiscent of a typical giallo plot. Either way, I look forward to reading the article. Thank you!  |
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Post by escalus5 on May 4, 2017 17:29:57 GMT
McBride's a good writer, but I don't think he makes a convincing case. Not only are the similarities vaguely defined, McBride doesn't make a specific comparison to any giallo film beyond one photo from BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (because, I guess, both LACE and HOUSE are horror features that use gelled lighting).
HOUSE does seem to owe more to the Hammer films of the period, although I think it's worth mentioning that with HOUSE, NIGHT, the Jack Palance DRACULA and his other horror projects, Dan Curtis basically created a visual style of his own, which I believe influenced other horror films e.g., BLACK CHRISTMAS.
When I think '70s American giallo, I'm thinking KLUTE, EYES OF LAURA MARS, and the films of Brian De Palma.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on May 4, 2017 20:58:46 GMT
McBride's a good writer, but I don't think he makes a convincing case. Not only are the similarities vaguely defined, McBride doesn't make a specific comparison to any giallo film beyond one photo from BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (because, I guess, both LACE and HOUSE are horror features that use gelled lighting). HOUSE does seem to owe more to the Hammer films of the period, although I think it's worth mentioning that with HOUSE, NIGHT, the Jack Palance DRACULA and his other horror projects, Dan Curtis basically created a visual style of his own, which I believe influenced other horror films e.g., BLACK CHRISTMAS. When I think '70s American giallo, I'm thinking KLUTE, EYES OF LAURA MARS, and the films of Brian De Palma. And never has there been a film director who when he found something he liked, used it over & over again as Dan Curtis. And Laura Mars-BINGO! We have a winner. McBride's discussion did get me thinking about American directors and film noir. Specifically that American directors didn't know they were making something called film noir until the French told them. Anyway, I agree McBride is a good writer but continue to believe Hammer vampire movies from the period are a better reference point. |
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Post by Trace on May 4, 2017 23:31:55 GMT
I like the Collinsport Historical Society page, but to be completely honest, I find that I disagree with many of McBride's opinions, as well as many of his contributors. But, that's why they're opinions!
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Post by Audio Watchdog on May 4, 2017 23:55:08 GMT
I like the Collinsport Historical Society page, but to be completely honest, I find that I disagree with many of McBride's opinions, as well as many of his contributors. But, that's why they're opinions! The great thing about them is that they promote discussion. And at least we all know we are coming at it from the same baseline. Love of Dark Shadows! |
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Post by Trace on May 5, 2017 1:34:44 GMT
I like the Collinsport Historical Society page, but to be completely honest, I find that I disagree with many of McBride's opinions, as well as many of his contributors. But, that's why they're opinions! The great thing about them is that they promote discussion. And at least we all know we are coming at it from the same baseline. Love of Dark Shadows! I think you've hit on it and are exactly right! It's that common baseline that keeps me going back time and again because I know that even if I disagree with the point being made, I can depend on the fact that it comes from a place of true love of and respect for the source! |
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Post by barnabaslives on May 5, 2017 9:32:33 GMT
Scars of Dracula has always been an oddball movie from the House of Horror, and is generally disliked for it, but it has always had this dreamlike, almost fever dream aspect to it that I have always responded well to. I feel the same way about HoDS. In his rush to tell several weeks worth of story in two hours, and to tell a story that a lot of people already knew, Dan Curtis compressed & twisted the story in a way that feels very off-kilter & disorientating to me. It's a world we kind of recognize with characters we think we know but it plays out in a way that doesn't completely make sense. That sounds like the best way to appreciate it - as the departure or the variation on a theme that it is, as there are some remarkable contrasts in places from the OS and I think of them as quite memorable. Fortunately our DS canon includes parallel universes so the events need not even conflict with established continuity or the audience's sense of it. Parallel universes were one of my very favorite things about the OS as a kid - they allowed an even more acute sense that almost virtually anything could and might happen in Collinsport. |
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2017 10:55:06 GMT
Having at last read this very interesting article, I find myself noticing Jonathan Frid's wish to distance himself from the Barnabas role similar to Christopher Lee's wish to distance himself from Dracula (similar, but not exactly the same). Both have publically expressed disatisfaction with their respective vampires, and I think that's a shame. I love HODS - the heightened gore and increased pace are, to my mind, the only way to successfully bring Dark Shadows to the big screen. And I love the term 'hearse opera!'
To compare 'Scars of Dracula' to 'House of Dark Shadows', my opinion is this. While 'Scars' showed all the signs of a franchise becoming tired and betraying its deceasing budget, 'House' presents a new, fast-cut, way of telling a vampire story. What they do have in common is that there is plenty of incident in both. With 'House', all these things adds up to a coherent, if sprawling story - in 'Scars', the incidents are just a series of set-pieces instead of a flowing narrative.
I still feel that 'Night of Dark Shadows' has more in common with giallo than 'House', though!
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