There’s more interest in fidelity to the original cast’s hair color than to the character of Barnabas Collins, who is neither the guilt-ridden loner of the TV series nor the bloodsucking savage of Curtis’ 1970 feature film “House of Dark Shadows.”
In this case, the trite theme has precedent: The first "Dark Shadows" spinoff feature film, 1970's "House of Dark Shadows," was advertised as "A Story of Blood Relations."