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Daughters of Darkness

Play trailer Poster for Daughters of Darkness R Released May 28, 1971 1h 27m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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83% Tomatometer 24 Reviews 61% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Newlyweds stop at a posh French hotel on their way to England. They meet a beautiful red-lipped woman whom the hotel owner swears had been there 40 years ago, even though she hasn't aged. She introduces herself as Countess of Bathory and folks begin to wonder.
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Daughters of Darkness

Critics Reviews

View All (24) Critics Reviews
Michael McNay Guardian The film is shot in a confusion of surrealistic perspectives. Mar 17, 2020 Full Review David Robinson Financial Times The making of the film however is Delphine Seyrig... who has a supremely elegant style in comedy and the special gift of never letting on whether she knows she's being funny or not. Mar 17, 2020 Full Review Margaret Hinxman Daily Telegraph (UK) The film is altogether more stylish than the recent Hammer horror which dealt with the identical theme. Mar 12, 2020 Full Review Alan Jones Radio Times Seyrig's brilliant performance and the always striking imagery make this European chiller a stunning masterwork. Rated: 4/5 Oct 31, 2024 Full Review Ciara Pitts Vague Visages Daughters of Darkness invites the audience into a cold, dreamlike experience that explores the versatility of desire. Dec 15, 2023 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand Harry Kümel’s elegant and sexy vampire film draws on the legend of Hungary’s Countess Elizabeth Bathory..., and mixes it with the lesbian vampire story “Carmilla” and the new freedoms of seventies genre cinema... Oct 6, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (107) audience reviews
Jonathan O Daughters of Darkness is really a gorgeous erotic vampire queer horror film. Really spectacular costume design and make-up design and really fantastic cast and beautiful cinematography it really feels like your in a dream. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/04/24 Full Review Erik B Bizarre 1971 erotic horror film. Two newlyweds spend their honeymoon at a mostly empty hotel - the only other guests being a subtly vampiric (and maybe lesbian?) couple. Story is straightforward, but there are a bunch of odd twists that make no sense and don't pan out. A fun watch nonetheless. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/23/24 Full Review Logan D A of seductive vampirism. The ending left me very confused. I did enjoy the cinematography. Very stylish and gothic. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/02/23 Full Review Brad P The Softer Side of Vampire Life Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/28/23 Full Review Audience Member incredibly boring until the final act. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/10/22 Full Review Audience Member A newly wed couple stay at a spawling and very beautiful old hotel in Ostend, Belgium. Stefan has married Valerie without telling his mother and so Valerie is keen for him to call to inform her of their union. A couple of women arrive at the hotel- the very glamorous Elizabeth and her younger companion Ilona. They seem beguiled and utterly captivated by Valerie and Stefan. And so the character's paths meet in what turns out to be a fantastic updating of the vampire genre. Lesbian chic was popular in vampire movies in the 70's and Daughters of Darkness is a worthy example of this. It's quickly established that Elizabeth and her companion are more than just friends but this point isn't laboured and is still somewhat shrouded in mystery. In fact, there are plenty of narrative strands within the film that are just as enigmatic and not needlessly over-explained. This is something that I love as it grants the audience with a modicum of intelligence and forces viewers to make up their own minds regarding backstory and context. As we have seen from newer horror films, especially the prequels made for classic horror films, over-explanation kills mystery and the horror element of these films. What made Leatherface the way he is? Who cares especially if the film sucks! Another example of this mystery occurs when we see Stefan finally call his mother. ‘Mother' turns out to be a very effeminate homosexual man not unlike a more sinister version of Quentin Crisp. ‘Mother' isn't happy about the marriage and lets Stefan know this. In fact, this episode in the film makes us ponder who Mother really is, his relationship to Stefan, Stefan's true sexuality and in fact, why Stefan has married Valerie in the first place. Did the shifty and malignant character of Stefan have his own agenda and intentions in his recent marriage, just as Elizabeth and Ilona have their own agenda? Stefan's call to his ‘Mother' instantly triggers a violent and angry reaction from his as he starts to beat his new wife with a belt in a shocking outburst of violence. We see that he is capable of these outbursts as he is of lying and other underhand behaviour (we witness the note he passes to the concierge regarding an earlier phone call to his mother which he doesn't want to make yet). The vampiric murders occurring in Ostend lend a chilling backdrop to the proceedings in the hotel. This reminds me of the murders that take place in Venice that are secondary to the main narrative in the film Don't Look Now. This device works so well within the horror genre. The use of the colour red in Daughters of Darkness also reminds me of the use of the same colour in Don't Look Now, in particular the little girl's coat. In Kumel's film the blood looks like aesthetically pleasing red paint and is redder than red just like in the pop art masterpiece that would come later, Dawn of the Dead. The lips of both Elizabeth and Ilona are also both painted the same shade of red. The detective who is constantly on the edge of proceedings reminds me of Kinderman in The Exorcist and brings out the detective element which was so prevalent in Giallo films. The ‘whodunnit' element was a key element of the original crime novels with yellow pages of which the Giallo film genre is primarily based on. The film features stunning direction by Harry Kumel, haunting photography and uniformly stunning performances. But theres one performance that deserves special recognition and that is of Elizabeth by Delphine Seyrig. I don't think I've seen such a well rounded, bewitching and captivating turn in any other horror movie. She is utterly believeable as Bathory- alluring, seductive and every other divine quality that the character would need to entice in her prey. As if that wasn't enough she has a wardrobe that is three parts Marlene Dietrich and one part Siouxsie Sioux (Kumel has mentioned that he modelled the character on Dietrich and Ilona on Louise Brooks, a perfect pair of influences). Seyrig is one of the most divine creatures to have ever graced the screen. When I first saw Daughters of Darkness in the 80's on Channel 4 here in the UK, I couldn't believe how perfect the film was. On revisiting it I'm left with the same feeling. Impeccable. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Daughters of Darkness

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Movie Info

Synopsis Newlyweds stop at a posh French hotel on their way to England. They meet a beautiful red-lipped woman whom the hotel owner swears had been there 40 years ago, even though she hasn't aged. She introduces herself as Countess of Bathory and folks begin to wonder.
Director
Harry Kumel
Producer
Paul Collet, Alain C. Guilleaume, Henry Lange
Screenwriter
Pierre Drouot, Jean Ferry, Harry Kumel
Distributor
Anchor Bay Entertainment, Sinister Cinema, Ariel Video, Blue Underground, Airborne Productions Inc.
Production Co
Roxy Films, Cinévog, P.C. Mediterranea, Maya Films
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
Dutch
Release Date (Theaters)
May 28, 1971, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 10, 2016
Runtime
1h 27m
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