User Reviews

"With all our ghosts, we sure don't need no strangers in the house."

An orphan raised in a home in New York is contacted by Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, who owns practically the whole fishing village of Collins Port, Maine, a sleepy, moody, dark place the train barely stops for because no one wishes to visit it. A sweet, but haunted, adult now, Victoria Winters takes the position and rides by train to Collins Port, hoping to understand why Stoddard contacted her, of all people, for the job. This job draws the ire of Stoddard's disgruntled, boozing brother, Roger, who has a troubled son, David, that will be the reason for Victoria's governess duties. Roger, quite a louse, temperamental and antagonistic, questions Stoddard, as so much as calling her a fool for doing so. Meanwhile, several key characters who remain vital to the pre-Barnabas period forewarn Victoria of having anything to do with the Collins family. Returning home after some time away, local Burke Devlin, still sour and harboring anger towards the Collins family over a matter not yet determined and waitress of the Collins Port Inn, Maggie Evans, both attempt to dissuade Victoria from taking the position, considering them toxic and dangerous.

What I felt is particularly established here in the first episode is the feeling of resentment and angst about the Collins family; their presence seems to cast an alarm, a distrust, an eerie spell over the small community who live in Collins Port. I love, cherish, and adore Gothic horror, and enjoy immensely stories surrounding a family with a shroud of mystery and how their past and power holds a gloomy shadow over a village who finds contempt and fear for them in equal measure. In Maggie's conversation with Victoria, we get this overview of how the Collins remain a symbol of creepiness, as if ghouls occupying a castle that rests in a perch on Widow's Hill high above the rest of the village, like gargoyles overlooking the little people.

I just sensed that there is this well-established threat that could entangle Victoria within a web of danger and intrigue; good work by Dark Shadows Creative in producing that aura of the unknown palpable in regards to the Collins. I particularly like how the show is character oriented and will bring in (and evolve) a number of locals who are all involved, in one way or another, with the Collins family. And, kudos to the dark, shadowy nature of the village, the immediate acknowledgment of discontent and hidden agendas brewing in many of the characters, and the prevailing idea that doom might be on the horizon for Victoria if she decides to remain instead of heeding to the warnings and advice of others who seem to understand just what might lie in wait for her.

The first-ever episode of the Dan Curtis-produced soap opera DARK SHADOWS, horror-tinged and drenched with gothic atmosphere. This one's obviously an introductory effort that sees a young girl travelling by train to take up a position as governess in the little town of Collinsport, Maine. We see a brief glimpse of the creepy characters living inside a dark old mansion and meet a few local townsfolk, all of whom seem to have their own secrets. Although cheap, this is full of atmosphere which is helped no end by the classically ominous soundtrack.

New York transplant, Victoria Winters (Alexandra Isles), travels to Collinsport, Maine in order to be the live-in nanny of David Collins, the 10 year-old son of a wealthy secretive family (and hopefully shed some light on her own past) despite a few locals trying to dissuade her, chief amongst them, Burke Devlin, who has his own bone to pick with the family.

This premiere episode effectively sets the chilling atmosphere that the series strived for. It's well-acted and drew me into the series right away.

My Grade: B+

Alexandra Moltke speaks the opening narration for the first time in this gothic soap opera with hints of horror as she heads to Collinwood to begin her job as the nanny for the unseen David Collins. She gets warnings from a chatty fellow train passenger, waitress Maggie Evans (Katherine Leigh Scott) and the mysterious Burke Devlin (Mitchell Ryan), the darkly handsome stranger returning to town to shake things up with the Collins family, particularly Roger (Louis Edmunds), the seemingly sinister blacksheep, the permanent guest in sister Elizabeth's gloomy seaside mansion. veteran movie star Joan Bennett, having been in film for nearly 40 years, is still elegant and gorgeous, yet commanding and mysterious. the stage is set for a Gothic soap opera that more than 50 years later is still a cult favorite.

Future sitcom stars Jane Rose of "Phyllis" and Conrad Bain of "Maude" and "Different Strokes" make guest appearances and are instantly recognizable. Stage and screen character actress Elizabeth Wilson is also seen in a flashback as Moltke's employment agent. there's enough mystery and intrigue set up in the 20 minutes of the episode to instantly grab you, and fortunately, not every original character is seeing so they can be slowly introduced. It is a great way to begin, and obviously, the best is yet to come.