The Small Screen Inspires the Big Screen with the release of 'Dark Shadows'

Everything old is new again as evidenced by the release of Dark Shadows on May the 11th.

Dark Shadows, the film, is based on the gothic cult classic soap opera which aired for five years on ABC beginning in 1966. The series plot followed the strange happenings of the Collins family and included werewolves, witches and most importantly, vampire Barnabas Collins.

Directed by Tim Burton, the film adaptation stars Johnny Depp whom reprises the role of Barnabas Collins, originally played by Jonathan Frid on the original supernatural soap opera. Frid, who has a cameo in the movie, recently died on April 13, 2012 at the age of 87.



The movie trailer conjures up some laughs, although with Burton’s influence for the macabre, it will no doubt lend to an even darker side than the original series. The latter did have some unintentional laughs as it was a live to tape show. There were always prop malfunctions and actors flubbing lines. The soap opera was syndicated and aired on the Syfy channel almost in its entirety with its ending run in 2003. The syndicated show regenerated the cult-like following that was inspired by the original series. A 1991 remake of the series did not fare well and ended after one season.

Boxed DVD sets of the original series are available on Amazon.com