Actually, here's a third post worth revisiting related to Scene 96:
I forgot to ask yesterday if I'm the only one who finds it a little odd that the makeup they used in Scene 85 to show the scratch wounds on the cheek of Strack's henchmen -
- makeup that was barely seen as it quickly flashed by in the scene, is much more effective than what they did with the scratch wounds on Gabriel's cheek -
- when that wound is seen on camera for several seconds. I mean, the henchman's wounds actually do look like Angelique's nails dug in his skin, whereas Gabriel's wounds look like they simply painted his cheek with red paint. But who knows? Maybe with Gabriel they were attempting to suggest that his wounds were bleeding so much that the actual scratches were hidden under all the blood.
And I didn't notice until today when I broke Scene 96 down into frames to select one to post on the "Caption This! - Night of Dark Shadows" board that the scratches on Gerard's face seem to fall inbetween the henchman's and Gabriel's:
Also, I've never really thought about it until today but it's so convenient that those doors in the corridor are closed so Gerard can come bursting through them. We never see them closed in any other scene in the film (or even in hoDS). And when he bursts through them, making all that sound, he isn't exactly acting the way he's scripted to make his way through the house to the stairs because the script says he "quietly ENTERS" his first shot. So much for that notion.
Though the way it is in the film is much more dramatic - not to mention DC isn't exactly known for his subtlety, now is he?! In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if DC moved Gerard's entrance from the foyer to the corridor just so Gerard
could burst through those doors!