Thursday 20 July 2017

DARK SHADOWS - LOVE LIVES ON

When I think of Dark Shadows, I don't think of Horror in the conventional sense, its more than that - yes it has Vampires and Witches and Werewolves and a creepy house and secrets and blood and gore and it does have a touch of the Hammer about the production but to me these aspects are just window dressing, to me Dark Shadows is a gothic romance in the style of Rebecca or Jane Eyre more about lost potential and lost souls and wasted lives than ghosts and ghouls, so it was with great joy that I received my copy of the latest anthology of short stories “Love Lives On” and was promised four tales of horror romance and intrigue and do you know dear reader that is just what I got.

Dark Shadows is many things, it is the empty school at night, it is the loner nursing his last of too many glasses of bourbon in a smoke filled bar at closing time, it is the romance that never was or never should have been but it is a romance, not always a good romance but a romance nonetheless. I am not talking Mills & Boon or Barbara Cartland but more in the classic sense of the word and these four stories take that brief and run with it:

Tuesdays and Thursdays by Cody Schell

Matthew Waterhouse (of Adric fame) has really become part of the fixtures and fittings of Dark Shadows, he really has found his niche and here he tells a rather charming tale of Professor Stokes and his coincidental meetings on consecutive Tuesdays with medium Janet Findlay they set at first at loggerheads with Stokes increasingly frustrated with the meetings, but in the world of Dark Shadows nothing happens unless there is a reason behind it. A charming beginning as we witness the gruff Professor Stokes slowly become enamoured of the mysterious Madam Findlay, its a joy to listen to and although not a rip roaring rom-com has more of a late summer than an autumnal feel that is more in the tradition of Dark Shadows.

The Velvet Room by Antonio Rastelli

From charm to terror. This story is the complete opposite of its predecessor and feels claustrophobic and intense. It is a tale of Gerard Stiles and Hallie Stokes who have been offered their hearts desires at a club called The Velvet Room - all they need to do is visit three times and tell the story of their lives and it will be theirs. This has the feel of one of those stories you used to get in the portmanteau films Amicus releases in the early 1970’s very From Beyond The Grave if you get my drift - the denizens of the club are suitably macabre and tick all the Horror boxes and narrator James Storm gives an anguished and desperate performance as Gerard Stiles.

Behind Closed Doors by Paul Phipps

The most appalling horror of all is not that of Vampires or Witches it is that that exists in the real world, that of mans inhumanity to man, and transported to the world of Darks Shadows this can bring a whole new dimension of terror to the already horrific subject of domestic abuse. Marie Wallace gives a tour de force performance as Jessica Griffin, on the cusp of happiness with husband to be WIllie Loomis but haunted by the memory of her abusive and controlling late husband. This being Dark Shadows death doesn't really mean a lot and after a hard day tending her bar Jessica receives a visit from the man who tried to control her life and who she thought she was free from, her late husband. Its a tense half an hour as we relive the pretty awful life Jessica lived before her first husband died, it one of those stories where even though it is uncomfortable to listen to, it is a story that needs to be heard and to be appreciated.


The Suitcase by Alan Flanagan

And so the anthology draws to a close with a tale of Cyrus and Sabrina Longworth, owners of the Collinsport Inn and a mysterious guest that arrives claiming to be a travelling cosmetics seller, but her suitcase seems to be something other than a suitcase and something rather deadly. The story is a cautionary tale following the “be careful what you with for” school of story telling as Sabrina’s innermost desires seem to be granted, but is there a price? surely there is a price? Continuing the theme of love, relationships, loss and longing that has permeated the set we end on a touch of melancholy - but it wouldn't be Dark Shadows without a bit of melancholy would it?

Its fair to say that this is my favourite of the Dark Shadows anthologies released so far, I like the thematic continuity between the stories even though the content are miles apart - the autumnal ambiance that is usually present in Dark Shadows has given way to a late summer feeling a feeling of darkness approaching but also of looking backwards towards the light that may one day return, sentimental old softy that I am I award this 9/10.

Written by Ed Watkinson

Synopsis

This title was released in July 2017. It will be exclusively available to buy from the BF website until August 31st 2017, and on general sale after this date.
Four tales of horror, romance and intrigue…
Tuesdays and Thursdays by Cody Schell
Professor Timothy Eliot Stokes lives a quiet, ordered life. But that order is about to be shattered as he finds himself encountering psychic medium Janet Findley over and over and over again...
The Velvet Room by Antonio Rastelli
Gerard Stiles has returned from the dead and, together with Hallie Stokes, is travelling the world attempting to defeat all manner of supernatural forces. But on a night in New Orleans they are about to receive an invitation to gain their hearts’ desires…
Behind Closed Doors by Paul Phipps
Jessica Griffin buried her past a long time ago. But in Collinsport, secrets don’t stay buried for long. On the longest night of her life, Jessica will discover the cruel truth behind the lie that is “’til death do us part…”
The Suitcase by Alan Flanagan
Sabrina and Cyrus Longworth seem to have everything they could wish for - happily married, running the Collinsport Inn, and about to start a family. But when a mysterious woman checks in they'll discover that not all guests should be welcomed, and not all wishes should come true...
Written By: Cody Schell, Antoni Rastelli, Paul Phipps, Alan Flanagan
Directed By: Darren Gross, Joseph Lidster, Jim Pierson

Cast

Matthew Waterhouse, James Storm, Marie Wallace, Lisa Richards