I haven't seen the '91 version since it was rerun several times on the Sci-Fi Channel, so I'm very grateful for this link to watch it again. As a matter of fact, I've watched several episodes today since my car was in the hospital (and I lost a day of work) and had lots of time. This allowed me to re-evaluate my perceptions of the remake.
I still found it lacking in the subtley of the original. Much of the first episodes was basically a remake of HoDS, in some cases virtually scene-for-scene and line-for-line. I couldn't help but think that if this was a "realistic" story, the entire national media would have descended on Collinsport to report that there actually are vampires. And I keep wondering where the police got those huge silvery crosses from. In the original, the very word "vampire" was not even uttered until almost a year into the storyline.
When I first saw the remake, I had problems with casting, but now not so much anymore. Originally, I didn't like Ben Cross as Barnabas and was middle-of-the-road with Barbara Steele as Julia. Now I see them as very well cast. I even started getting use to Ely Pouget's portrayal as a more, shall we say, "fun-loving" version of Maggie. She was more in tune with DC's original portrayal of Maggie as a much hard-working, in-your-face girl. However, I still think Jim Fyfe was miscast as Willie.
Collinwood still comes off as impersonal and sterile. That model of the exterior doesn't help matters; I keep waiting for Godzilla to come and stomp on it. The interiors, although lucious (whether stage-settings or the authentic house it was filmed in) lacked the proper atmosphere.
I originally didn't like the screenplays (probably because of that lack of subtlety), but now I appreciate the writing more.
I did notice, on this internet version, that things are "brighter" in the night scenes, but I've been able to ignore it.
All in all, I'd say that I am enjoying it more than my first viewings of it, whether when it appeared on NBC or in reruns on Sci-Fi.
Gerard
