Cheap Daughters of Darkness (DVD) (Delphine Seyrig) (Harry Kümel) Price

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Customer Reviews of Daughters of Darkness

A mesmerizing and atypical vampire film
"Daughters of Darkness" (originally titled "La rouge aux lèvres") is a 1971 Belgian-French-West German production directed by Harry Kümel that stars Delphine Seyrig as the Countess Elizabeth (Erzsebet) Bathory (a real historical figure who murdered hundreds of young women in her quest for immortality). In the film, Bathory and her young female companion (Andrea Rau) cross pathes with a young couple, Valerie and Stefan (played by Danielle Ouimet and John Karlen - Willie Loomis from TV's "Dark Shadows") who are honeymooning during the off-season in Europe. At first the couple seem fairly normal, but things quickly sour, as the woman is shown to be emotionally unstable and the man is very violent and turned on by death. Their relationship is also undermined by homosexuality on both sides. There are intimations that Stefan is in thrall to an older man back in England, and Valerie - of course - soon falls under the spell of the ageless and beautiful Countess Bathory. This mesmerizing and hypnotic film makes brilliant use of sound, mood, and color to paint an understatedly savage tableau, and it has a well-deserved cult following. It's probably too slow-moving for the average horror movie fan, however. "Daughters of Darkness" is very self-consciously an "art" film. The carefully constructed images, the nonsensical dialogue, the use of vivid reds and blues, and the extremely deliberate pacing all serve to create a film that - despite a few shockingly strange death scenes - is much closer in spirit to "Last Year at Marienbad" than it is to "The Lost Boys."

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A Guilty Pleasure
Let's face it: "Daughters of Darkness" is, at most, a guilty pleasure. Despite the cheesy music, overly dramatic dialogue, and uneven acting, this film is totally watchable. Delphine Seyrig is suitably seductive and enigmatic as the world-weary Countess Elisabeth Batori who in her search for blood and eternal life pounces upon a young couple in the Belgian coastal town of Ostend. Andrea Rau plays the countess's slave (and lover). John Karlen of "Dark Shadows" fame plays the husband who tries to save his wife from Batori's clutches.

Notorious when it was released theatrically in 1971 for its brief explicitness, this unexpurgated version is pure escapist Eurotrash and wonderfully watchable! It should appeal to both fans of camp classics as well as vampire movie buffs.

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A Bewitching Vampire Tale...
Stefan, a British aristocrat with sadistic tendencies, and the beautiful Valerie, a simple girl, have eloped and are on their way home to break the news to Stefan's mother. However, Stefan is hesitant to bring his wife to see his mother as he delays the trip back to England on purpose by making up stories. The newlyweds decide to stay in an extravagant hotel on the seaside while Stefan attempts to buy some time. Stefan and Valerie are the only guests at the hotel besides the flamboyant Countess Bathory and her seductive secretary since it is off-season. During the stay the Countess Bathory has taken a liking to the couple and begins to seduce them both as she begins setting her wicked plan into action.

Daughters of Darkness is a vampire tale with a malevolently chilly and sexually tense atmosphere that haunts the mind with its subtle approach as Kümel avoids the popular approach of vampires. The vampires do not sleep in coffins nor attack the necks of their victims with sharpened elongated teeth. Instead Kümel disguises the threat of evil behind courteous behavior, alluring charm, and vivid gesticulations that become passionately seductive for the characters in the film. In addition, the mise-en-scene is strongly suggestive and vibrant colors are used in order to enhance the bewitching atmosphere that is viewed by the audience. This leaves the viewer with an uneasy, but artistic cinematic experience that selective audiences will appreciate.