# Dark Shadows (1991)

> A governess arrives at a Maine estate where a newly freed vampire and a time-traveling mystery draw her into the Collins family's gothic past.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/15729

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 12
- Episode runtime: 55 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: drama, fantasy, horror
- Created by: Dan Curtis
- Network: NBC
- Cast: Ben Cross, Veronica Lauren, Ely Pouget, Ellen Wheeler, Adrian Paul, Lysette Anthony, Jim Fyfe, Joanna Going
- TMDB rating: 7.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099363/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: melodramatic, gothic, melancholic, suspenseful, eerie

## What critics say

Critics largely viewed the 1991 revival as a weak, uneven follow-up to the 1966 original that could not sustain its gothic soap appeal, and it was canceled after one season.

## Synopsis

Dark Shadows (1991) is a United States network gothic horror soap series created by Dan Curtis for NBC. Governess Victoria Winters (Joanna Going) arrives at the crumbling Collinwood estate in Collinsport, Maine, where the wealthy Collins family hides dangerous secrets. Her arrival coincides with the release of the vampire Barnabas Collins (Ben Cross) from his coffin, and she is soon drawn into his tangled affairs and the family's history. Her engine is simple and urgent: she wants to protect the household and understand the forces around her, while a doctor attempts to cure Barnabas of his vampirism by medical means. Each of the twelve fifty-five minute episodes of this single season builds dread through romance, rivalry and supernatural menace, with cliffhangers that keep the family saga moving. Victoria's journey back to 1790 brings the story into a period setting where the still-human Barnabas faces his transformation. Its atmosphere is melancholic, melodramatic and rain-dampened, with candlelit rooms and gothic ornament, and its tone blends soap opera heartache with horror dread. Viewers who enjoy the original 1966 Dark Shadows, Penny Dreadful and Outlander will find resonance in its gothic mood and time-slip romance. The series was canceled after a single season, so its story stops before the mystery is fully resolved.

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- [The Addams Family (1964)](https://ember.film/tv/13047)
- [Salem (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/54338)
- [Salem's Lot (2004)](https://ember.film/tv/18043)
- [Poltergeist: The Legacy (1996)](https://ember.film/tv/10411)
- [The Secret of Crickley Hall (2012)](https://ember.film/tv/52610)
- [Rose Red (2002)](https://ember.film/tv/18153)
- [The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/91777)
- [Salem's Lot (1979)](https://ember.film/tv/14988)

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