Homage to DS Horror

[Zahir]

I was thinking (be afraid, be very afraid  ) about the Dream Curse and realized it in some ways bore a startling resemblence to the plot of the Japanese film Ringu and its US remake The Ring.  From there I also remembered how some fellow DS fans and I went to see the premier of Bram Stoker's Dracula and had fun finding all the parallels--the ring, the cane, the portraits of Dracula and his love, etc.  For that matter isn't Barnabas the archetype of the "good guy vampire" made popular in Interview With the Vampire, Nick Knight (who had a woman scientist in love with him trying to make him human) and Angel?

Now, I am not--repeat NOT and please recall that I said/wrote I was not--accusing anyone of plagirism.  But I am wondering about what other parallels folks might find.  Seems to me DS was in some ways quite advanced for its time.

[IluvBarnabas]

Well Dark Shadows borrowed a lot from all the classic stories....Dracula, Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde, Turn of the Screw and put its own twists on them.

The best example of other movies or stories being influenced by DS.....Wasn't Anne Rice, the author of Interview with the Vampire, supposed to be a fan of DS? That's why she [spoiler]made Louis, the "hero", such a guilt-ridden vampire[/spoiler] much like Barnabas.

Tell me if I am wrong but I heard somewhere that Rice was a DS fan.

[Brandon Collins]

Tell me if I am wrong but I heard somewhere that Rice was a DS fan.

I think I've heard this quite a few times as well.

And as for finding parallels to DS, you could find parallels in a lot of different things. A lot of writers say "There are no new ideas", just new takes on them. I happen to think Barnabas and Angel are really similiar. Barnabas was the "original" vampire with a soul, or "conscience" as you may have it. Angel fell in love with Buffy, a Slayer. Barnabas fell in love with Angelique (a Slayer--hey, she killed all those people!). Cordelia and Julia are similar in the fact that they were both brought further into the supernatural world by their vampire interests.

I think a lot of people who are writing currently are/were fans of DS. I think Stephen King was/is as well. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I was thinking (be afraid, be very afraid  ) about the Dream Curse and realized it in some ways bore a startling resemblence to the plot of the Japanese film Ringu and its US remake The Ring.

How wild that you should bring up The Ring because I watched it on DVD last night. I hadn't associated its premise with the Dream Curse, but now that you mention it, there are definite similarities. (I loved The Ring - tonight's viewing is the unrated version of The Ring Two.)

I heard somewhere that Rice was a DS fan.

Anne Rice was interviewed (or should I say ambushed) for the ill-fated DS Sciography program, but I don't think any of her footage made the cut.

[Midnite]

I was thinking (be afraid, be very afraid  ) about the Dream Curse and realized it in some ways bore a startling resemblence to the plot of the Japanese film Ringu and its US remake The Ring.

How wild that you should bring up The Ring because I watched it on DVD last night. I hadn't associated its premise with the Dream Curse, but now that you mention it, there are definite similarities. (I loved The Ring - tonight's viewing is the unrated version of The Ring Two.)

Both "The Ring" and the dream curse storyline bring to mind a 1957 movie starring Dana Andrews called "Night of the Demon" (or "Curse of the Demon"), which was based on the short story "Casting the Runes" by M.R. James.  The movie is about a powerful leader of a Satanic cult who imposes a death curse on those who pose a threat to him by having them accept a scrap of paper on which the curse is written.  The only way to save yourself is to find a willing recipient of the piece of paper within the allotted time.  (Rocky Horror afficianados will recognize the reference to the movie.)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The only way to save yourself is to find a willing recipient of the piece of paper within the allotted time.

Shades of the shadow cutout that [spoiler]Jeb put on Nicholas[/spoiler]- though [spoiler]Nicholas wasn't exactly willing to accept it.  [/spoiler]

(Rocky Horror afficianados will recognize the reference to the movie.)

They will?     

[Midnite]

Shades of the shadow cutout that [spoiler]Jeb put on Nicholas[/spoiler]- though [spoiler]Nicholas wasn't exactly willing to accept it.  [/spoiler]

Yes!

(Rocky Horror afficianados will recognize the reference to the movie.)

They will?     

AAAA!, and I was thinking of you.  From Science Fiction/Double Feature:  Dana Andrews said prunes gave him the runes, and passing them used lots of skills 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Ah, OK. I've never seen Night of the Demon, so that line has always gone over my head. Thanks for explaining it. 

[Midnite]

You're welcome.  Enjoy The Ring Two!  

And it's aficionados.  I can't type tonight.  

[Gothick]

Mysterioso darling, I have just awakened from the dead faint into which I passed when I read that you had NEVER seen The Night of the Demon!

Look for a PM from me at some point.  I'll make a tape of the movie and mail it to you!  It's one of my all time favorite films, and I am sure you will adore it.

I thought the origin (or oblique inspiration, at least) of the Dream Curse was a famous tale by E. F. Benson (author of the Mapp and Lucia novels), "The Room in the Tower."  I presume that Google will reveal that it is available online through the Gutenberg project or some such.  It has the central conceit of a dream that keeps going "one step further" and there are intimations of vamprisim, as well... Most excellent reading for the Season!

cheers, G.

[Raineypark]

I thought the origin (or oblique inspiration, at least) of the Dream Curse was a famous tale by E. F. Benson (author of the Mapp and Lucia novels), "The Room in the Tower."  I presume that Google will reveal that it is available online through the Gutenberg project or some such.  It has the central conceit of a dream that keeps going "one step further" and there are intimations of vamprisim, as well... Most excellent reading for the Season!cheers, G.

There is a paperback edition of E.F. Benson's short mystery/ghost  stories that includes "The Room in the Tower".  Unfortunately, mine is packed away in one of many boxes and I can't recall what that collection is titled.

[ProfStokes]

There is a paperback edition of E.F. Benson's short mystery/ghost  stories that includes "The Room in the Tower".  Unfortunately, mine is packed away in one of many boxes and I can't recall what that collection is titled.

The one I have is called The Collected Ghost Stories of E.F. Benson and was published by Carroll & Graf.

ProfStokes

[Mark Rainey]

NIGHT OF THE DEMON is the original British release title; in the U.S., it's generally known as CURSE OF THE DEMON, and is edited by about 15 minutes - although different American releases featured different edits.

DEMON is my favorite horror film of all time. It surpasses M. R. James' original tale, "Casting the Runes," far as I'm concerned, although the story is still quite excellent.

Some who've read my LABYRINTH OF SOULS may notice that the character name Maitland Karswell is an amalgamation of the main antagonists' names in "The Skull of the Marquis de Sade" (Maitland) and "Casting the Runes" (Karswell).

Both the Japanese and American versions of THE RING are excellent; both have their strengths and shortcomings, but in total, hold up as particularly effective horror movies. Don't expect much from the U.S. RING 2, however; it's a pale shadow of the original (and not related to the Japanese version of RING 2).

[PennyDreadful]

RL Stevenson's The Bottle Imp also has a vaguely similar theme.  The bottle imp passes from person to person, and the one who dies with it in their possession is doomed to damnation in the afterlife

[retzev]

I also think NIGHT OF THE DEMON is one of the greats, [spoiler]except for the end when the Demon is shown    they really blew it there. Would've been much more effective had they let our imaginations do the work, as in the original THE HAUNTING[/spoiler]

NIGHT OF THE DEMON and it's US variant CURSE OF THE DEMON are available on a nice DVD from Columbia.

The schlocky '80s horror flick NIGHT OF THE DEMONS is a lot of fun too