Daughters of Darkness.

Review #2609: Daughters of Darkness.

Cast: 

Delphine Seyrig (Countess Elizabeth Bathory), John Karlen (Stefan Chilton), Danielle Ouimet (Valerie Chilton), Andrea Rau (Ilona), Paul Esser (Pierre), Georges Jamin (retired policeman), Joris Collet (butler), and Fons Rademakers (mother) Directed by Harry Kümel.

Review: 

"My films are about other films — that’s obvious. I’ve always watched an enormous number of movies, and I still do. These days, you can see everything online — especially old French cinema in beautiful quality. It’s a problem for film archives, of course, but wonderful for viewers. I don’t consciously pay homage to anyone, but I’m shaped by the filmmakers I admire: Joseph von Sternberg, John Ford, and, of course, Alfred Hitchcock — the Mozart of cinema."

Sure, what's horror without at least one arthouse scare? Yes, here's an international production between Belgium, France, and West Germany that ended up filmed in English. Harry Kumel (who had started directing features with Monsieur Hawarden [1968]) was approached by a group of producers who apparently wanted to make something "erotic, bloody, full of horror". Given that he was still in the midst of preparation for Malpertuis (1973), he had a good chance to take on the task, complete with being inspired by the supposed exploits of Elizabeth Báthory, a Hungarian countess that had been accused of torturing and killing several girls and women from 1590 to 1610 before she was convicted (alongside her servants) and eventually died in prison in 1614. Supposedly, she bathed in the blood of virgins to retain her youth, which, well, obviously was more folklore hokum than based on fact; of course, the lead character is also styled after Marlene Dietrich (for which Kümel once called her a "demagogue"), while Rau's is meant to be styled after Louise Brooks), so there's that. Interiors were done in Brussels, Belgium. Four writers ultimately received credit: Kümel, Pierre Drouot, Jean Ferry (who upon hearing it said it was "the great liberation!"), and Joseph Amiel. Apparently, Kümel still gets offers to talk about the movie every now and then and once stated that his French distributor "has to delete the film from YouTube almost every week", although he also noted that where the sincerity starts/ends is "intentionally ambiguous" (this was probably a reply to one certain critic that called the film the type to belong in what she called "psychological high Gothic").

Sure, the movie dances around the idea of someone being a vampire for quite a while in its 100-minute runtime. But it's a war of nerves within the dance of art and sleaze, and I suppose that's part of the interest for a movie that has plenty of womanly desire within the game of dominance. I guess you could call that bleak, or maybe there's something else lurking within the fringes of not just being the Dracula's Daughter of would-be vampire wooing. It's the horror of contradictions with a group of people that probably shows the horrors of what "love" seems to actually be more than anything. It dilly-dallies around a hotel with few people around while showing a couple that is most decidedly not waiting to assert their love or trying to go home as opposed to those castle-bound/village-bound vampire movies. It's a cold modern movie (well, 1971 modern) that I wish I could like more than I ended up doing, which is mostly because it does loiter a bit too much in actual execution besides some dances with the erotic (to be honest, it works more with Rau and her energy more than, well...). It all rides on Seyrig and her performance that basically glides across the proceedings with icy charm that can play head (or neck) games with the best of them, which is pretty unsettling to see with such easy targets. Rau doesn't say much, but she seems a bit less unsettled than Ouimet, that's for sure. Probably the one regret that stuck with Kümel was the casting of Karlen, who apparently was cast with photos that had been a few years old (at the time, the former Dark Shadows alum was in his late thirties - of course, Kümel wanted Malcolm McDowell, who was ten years younger). Granted, the fact that Karlen is playing the one male lead to a certain type of unpolishedness (well, for a character that has the twist that, well, doesn't actually want to call Mother...whoever that is). At least Ouimet and Karlen being unsettling together is mostly on purpose. The film rides on atmosphere and the occasional moods that come in color before eventually, finally, getting to what really is going to go on with creatures of the night that happen to leave a trail of bodies in their wake. Never boring, it's a mild success for those who like some curious choices for their vampire movies, that's for sure.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!