Daughters of Darkness (1971)

Genuinely Good Movie

I struggled a bit with how many stars to give this. The quality, both technical and plot, were surprisingly good. The sound and music were super.

That said, and this will seem a bit coarse, I like my trash to be trashier than this. When I think "lesbian vampire," I don't think about it being implied. I think about it being a bit more in my face than in my head.

I did like that a bit of the dialogue is in a Rob Zombie song. I had wondered where that sound byte came from. EDIT: The song is Living Dead Girl. "What are you thinking about?" vhttbbb dddbbb "Same thing you are."

A fine film that I will watch again, I was just surprised at how tame it was.

EDIT: I finally got around to watching The Blood Spattered Bride that came as a bonus disc in the same packaging. I am amazed, but I liked it far better than Daughters. BSB is down right creepy. At no point was Daughters frightening, but BSB? I'll watch it again (and I think my wife may like it) before I watch Daughters. August 30, 2007

Gotta Love It

Okay, I am going to make this review short and sweet.
I never thought I would be a fan of movies like this
but after my curiosity drove me to watch Daughters of Darkness
I would not have it any other way. Delphine Seyrig is perfect
for the part of the Countess Elizabeth Bathory.
Her attitude is excellent and you feel yourself almost being
drawn to her. This is a must-see movie that will leave you
wanting more! June 26, 2007

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

this film is really really slow and boring. i cant tell you what happened becasue i kept falling asleep. i wasnt feeling much horror or eroticism or anything just weird borish people and slow boring dialogue. the only darkness i was feeling was the back of my eyelids. June 13, 2007

Big Hype

I really wanted to like this film. I'm a big fan of Euro-trash, exploitation, low-budget horror, and "psychotronic" video in general, and all sources agreed that this was a "must see." So, I was understandably excited when this arrived -- I immediately popped it in the player, and sat wide-eyed, prepped for maximum enjoyment. Slowly (but not as slow as the plot of this film) it dawned on me: this movie is horrible. I don't want to just trash talk -- the technical aspects were good, the cinematography was nice, etc. But there is absolutely no action whatsoever. Everyone wants to talk about the great story, and true, the story is interesting in theory. But its portrayed in such a sluggish and boring style. The movie could have been about half as long and still developed the story fully. Also, I personally didn't find this film erotic at all. I understand there is a shorter version of this film -- that may help with the boredom, but it still isn't anywhere near as good as the hype. Obviously, a lot of people like this movie, but to be fair, its not really a horror movie, its not particularly erotic, and both the lesbianism and vampirism are almost completely implied; all of this is ok, except that the way most describe it, you would expect all of these things to be present. If you want an icredibly slow-paced, "moody" art film, this might be your thing; if you want an erotic horror movie, or a "lesbian vampire" movie, this probably isn't what you're looking for. May 16, 2007

Stylish and Artistic

"Daughters of Darkness" crackles with repressed sexual energy and barely suppressed libidinous desire in a way uncommon for an early 1970's horror film. Eschewing the somewhat vulgar and obvious treatment of the same story by Hammer, made as "Countess Dracula", Belgian director Harry Kumel opts for an overly symbolic aesthetic that self consciously emulates European art cinema. The similarities to Alain Resnais' "Last Years in Marienbad" are notable in relation to casting, but also in the strangely isolated and ethereal hotel setting. Kumel also experiments with time and space in a non linear way. This is not to say that his film makes no narrative sense, in fact it easy to follow, but symbolic representations of time signified by the countess herself makes one question not only the films reality but also its temporality. Kumel also makes use of an intriguing colour scheme which privileges reds and greens as symbols of death, decay, but also regeneration. Perhaps the films most impressive aspect though is its almost total rejection of the iconography of the horror genre. For example we see no fangs, we so no drinking of blood, no familiars, in fact by the films conclusion we are not even 100% sure there has been any vampirism. This is a great film because Kumel takes exploitation material (lesbianism and vampirism) and places them in the background, preferring to privilege mood, ambience and an artistic formal strategy.

Blue Underground's DVD presents the film fully restored and uncut and in a sumptuous transfer. Also included in this edition is another treatment of the Countess Bathory story, the rather more exploitative "Blood Spattered Bride", this is a perfectly acceptable effort, but with a stronger emphasis on nudity and violence...But there is nothing wrong with that. December 26, 2006

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