House Of Dark Shadows (1970)

A handyman (John Karlen) accidentally frees a 175 year old vampire (Jonathan Frid) from the crypt of the Collins family mausoleum. He then goes on a blood sucking rampage until a doctor (Grayson Hall) isolates the vampire "gene" and tries to cure him of his vampirism. Based on the 1966 cult horror soap opera that had a 5 year run and directed by the show's creator Dan Curtis. I'll be upfront and say I never watched the TV version so I don't have any attachment to it and am judging the film on its own merits (or lack of them). It's a pretty generic vampire movie with a nice Hammer like atmosphere and a few unique components (like the doctor's attempt to cure the vampire of his "disease"). The body count is pretty high and the acting is adequate though Nancy Barrett's performance is more than adequate, it's quite good. I didn't find Frid a particularly charismatic vampire, he's rather ordinary really and I wish Joan Bennett as the family matriarch had more to do. With Kathryn Leigh Scott, Thayer David, Roger Davis and Louis Edmonds.