Bloodlust: Volume 2 (Dark Shadows)

Vol. 2 more than makes up for the dreary, boring Vol. 1, the actors are on top of their game. Particular cudos go to Lara Parker and Katherine Leigh Scott - brava ladies. Sadly, David Selby and the gentleman who played Barnabas had disappointingly small roles. Good story line.

A great second volume to a marvelous audio series

Bloodlust Volume 2 concludes the riveting story that began with Bloodlust Volume 1, picking up the pace further while maintaining an even higher level of suspense and mystery than the first Volume, for as long as humanly possible. Bloodlust as a whole represents an outstanding effort by Big Finish to infuse this production with certain, sometimes more elusive, aspects of the original television drama (going so far as their site's serialized releases of Bloodlust in 13 regularly-scheduled parts), while managing to be relevant and inviting to more contemporary listeners without sacrificing any of series' original charm. The result of such remarkable devotion to the quality of the audience's experience has all the makings for broad appeal even while providing many rewarding and even momentous scenes for long-time fans of Dark Shadows. Notable new characters join classic series favorites in Bloodlust, then are effectively immortalized by giving the audience a genuine opportunity to know them and have them make a deep impression, even amid the unrelenting dramatic and mysterious events. Bloodlust makes very good use of the time allotted for the telling of the ambitious story to allow us to become enamored with the humanity in even some unlikely characters, all portrayed by performers who seem as if inspired by a sense of being part of something extraordinary. In spite of many notable and well-loved triumphs in the Big Finish Dark Shadows line, Bloodlust may truly be the best thing that's happened to Dark Shadows in a long time, as it succeeds in many ways at many levels - including, through the serialized form, recreating the same excitement that used to make viewers race home to catch the original television series. Many listeners and even potentially hard-to-please, old school fans like myself, could barely wait for the precise minute to arrive when we could hear the next installment. Bloodlust's ability to spontaneously elicit even such unlikely but passionate enthusiasm as that, establishes that not only is Bloodlust very special, it's outright magical. Bravo, Big Finish!

Many thanks to all concerned for this amazing series. Even by the usual excellent standard of Dark Shadows from the Big Finish company, this has been a brave, exhilarating, thrilling, wistful, compelling, spooky, touching drama and I have loved every aspect of it from start to finish. This is where all the events and questions posed in volume one are resolved, answered, or turned spectacularly on their heads! Possibly even more than volume one, this plays with the idea of audio story-telling and takes advantage of the episodic formula to provide experimental and unexpected moments in amongst the ongoing intensity of the drama. It does seem to provide a very final finale, but with further standalone audiobokks in the works, the rich tapestry of characters still have stories to tell, despite the genuinely emotive winding up of this extraordinary tale. The mixture of new and original cast members/characters is expertly handled, this making this a very enjoyable story for long term fans of the show and also people who many not be familiar with Dark Shadows. If you like horror, if you like audio, if you like quality drama at all, then this comes hugely recommended. Dan Curtis would be proud.

One word. Brilliant. Please do not miss volume 1 and 2. 1966 is gone. There are more stories to tell.

This concludes the story. It is very interesting. John Karlen comes as Willie.

I've reviewed the first part of this series, so all I will say is that it is just as good as part 1, and a must for all DS fans out there, as well for newcomers who will certainly enjoy the feel of a full cast audio drama, keeping with the feel of vintage CBC radio broadcasts...a wonderful change from reality TV foolishness!!!

Great thx