Night of Dark Shadows - Production

Production

After the success of House of Dark Shadows, the feature film version of Dan Curtis' gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, MGM were ready to back a follow-up film in 1971. Curtis originally wanted to do a direct sequel and revive the vampire Barnabas Collins. However, actor Jonathan Frid refused to play the role again for fear of type-casting. Realizing it would be a mistake to recast the popular character, Curtis worked with writer Sam Hall to concoct an all-new storyline.

On March 29, 1971, filming began on Curse of Dark Shadows, later re-titled Night of Dark Shadows for its release. Without the headaches of producing the television series concurrently, the production crew were able to achieve a far more polished product than the previous year. In order to give the production some authenticity, spiritualist Hans Holzer was employed as an advisor to the production, though his actual contribution to the finished product proved minimal.

The story they created was very loosely based on the "parallel time" sequence of the TV show, and was centered around the show's other popular male lead Quentin Collins, played by David Selby. The film, Night of Dark Shadows, was shot in six weeks on a budget of $900,000 and released in 1971, after the TV show had left the air. It was not unsuccessful, but less successful than its predecessor, despite its chilly atmosphere and intriguing plotline.

Hall's script, developed in conjunction with Curtis, was a wistful tale of gothic romance and supernatural reincarnation, bolstered by credible performances from David Selby, Kate Jackson and Grayson Hall. When filming completed without major problems, Curtis set about editing the final film, which proved far denser and more complex than House of Dark Shadows.

One reason often cited for the film's lack of performance is that MGM forced Curtis to cut over 35 minutes from his finished film, and gave him only 24 hours to do the job. So the film went from approximately 129 minutes to about 94 minutes, which, according to some, caused the film to lose its coherence.

Much of the excised footage was recovered in 1999, but unfortunately, without sound. This material consists of 16 never-before-seen sequences, extending over a dozen existing scenes, reinstating the darker mood, and restoring the original structure and continuity. Amongst the highlights in the version are a flashback between the doomed lovers, Charles and Angelique Collins; two new scenes featuring menacing groundskeeper Gerard Stiles; several romantic interludes between Quentin and Tracy; a candlelit ‘exorcism’ sequence in the gallery - the film’s original climax; and notably, the ‘hanging’ sequence, as well as several other scenes with intensity on par with an R-rated film.