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★★★★★
Directed by: Harry Kümel
Written by: Pierre Drouot, Harry Kümel, Jean Ferry
Starring Delphig Seyrig, Danielle ouimet, John Karlen and Amndrea Rau
Throwback Film Review by: Rachel Pullen
Daughters of Darkness (1971) Film Review
The 70s was a sexy time, Playboy was at the peak of its success. People got into swinging and rubbing their areas near each other, women hated bras and needed ample chest liberation, things were sweet. So, in keeping with the trend of the powerful sexual revolution and bra-free ladies, Belgium director Harry Kümel decided to jump on board the bandwagon to create...erotic horror.
Ew, some of you may say, but I say shut up, I'm all for the sexy nature of horror, I mean I'm not the only lady to get aroused by serial killers, look at all the ladies Ted Bundy got after he was a convicted murderer! But Mr Kümel decided to throw that out the window and make the killer, the predator, the evil menace in this film...a woman.
Daughters of Darkness tells the tale of a married couple who are travelling from Europe back to the U.K., but it's a long trip by train and so they decided to pit stop for a few days at a hotel in Belgium during its offseason, they are the only ones there, so they hump, eat and keep to themselves, but it's not long until two ladies turn up late in the night, I REPEAT...IN THE NIGHT, and take an interest in our freshly wed duo.
These two ladies are sexy and mysterious, maybe lovers, we don't know but both are hot so I wouldn't say no, and clearly, Elizabeth is the more powerful of the two and quickly becomes pals with the other guests. She works her charm and the dude is like, yeah I would but I have a wife, maybe I shall just be an annoying husband who didn't tell his mother he got married and worry about that.
He is foolish because while he is distracted Elizabeth is trying to get on his wife, she is alluring her to the dark side, something she seemed against since the start, she winced at the sight of blood but now Elizabeth has her right in her palm.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth sends her other lady lover to seduce our useless husband, but because he is lame at almost everything in this movie he ends up killing her during their romp. Elizabeth and his wife soon stumble across the bloodbath and end up being like...ok let's bury this lover/slave on the beach ...but Elizabeth is adamant they do it before sunrise, makes sense...
But wait, have we never seen her in the sun? No, we haven't...oh that's right because she is a vampire? Maybe? We are never really told, but who cares? They decide to flee the scene of the sexy blood murder but remember...before the sun, do everything before the sun.
This movie has to be one of my favourite horrors of the '70s, and during a time where there were a lot of lesbian vampire films around, Daughters of Darkness exudes a class and sophistication that the others completely miss.
This film is a beacon, a shining example of how to create a strong and sexual female lead without objectifying her, you could almost say this was the original Jennifer s Body.
Its subtle yet alluring sexual subtext makes this movie an artistic masterpiece, not quite flashy enough for mainstream cinema, but not too abstract that it loses a large audience, Daughters of Darkness sits right in that sweet spot.
So ladies, whip your bras off and get amongst the powerful, sexual and chilling experience that is watching Daughters of Darkness, and fellas join in too, as long as you tell your mother.
So this week we learn:
Belgium is full of vampires
Men won't tell their mum's when they get married
And off-season hotels see a lot of swinging action.
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