Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Melanie Bouvet The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

moonmonday Daughters of Darkness is one of those films where the viewer can generally be sure of what will happen from one moment to the next, but it's still interesting enough to keep watching. It's fairly predictable, up until the last second, which unfortunately you find yourself wishing that perhaps you're wrong...and finding out you were right all along.It's a good enough story, though, with characters boasting many facets and many levels of depth, although unfortunately the surface is barely scratched with most of them. That's also kind of a disappointment since the cast of characters is so small, it's not like they couldn't have explored deeper. The actors were most all up to the task, so why does it seem so shallow in so many ways?The direction, the cinematography, the hair, the makeup, the costumes -- all of it is splendid. Unfortunately by the last half-hour, it's all started to spin its wheels, and the experience has begun to sour. By the last shot, you're done with the movie and more than slightly irritated that you were asked to invest 100 minutes into something that really didn't deserve them.But the Countess was so seductive and interesting, and the young couple were so strange and intriguing, and you knew the story like any old tale, but you hoped that familiarity wouldn't spoil you on it. And when it did anyway, you felt betrayed, as betrayed as you should, yet you still took away a particular feeling from it, something you did like, even if it was ultimately not an overwhelmingly positive experience.This is a film with far more style than substance, and what substance there is remains mostly untapped. There's far too much time-wasting and actor-wasting, too many scenes that don't add up to anything, and an ending that will literally make you angry.Is it worth watching? Once. And only once.Don't make the mistake of going down that road again: it presents far more than it can back up, and that perhaps is the most unfortunate quality of all in this film. It is, at its heart, even flimsier than the shallowest Hammer vampire number, and not nearly as fun as any of them, ultimately. It could have been much better. If only it had bothered to make a good ending of itself. But a bad ending can ruin even a good story, and this was just barely adequate, struggling to breach the surface of mediocrity and pastiche.There is a visual splendour to it, and it is enjoyable to watch and digest as a piece of art. The characters are not all so superficial as they may appear, but any depth remains sadly unexplored, perhaps tragically, by the resolution or lack thereof. Some plot threads are completely dropped, others misappropriated, and all in all this ends up an unsatisfying mess by the last fade to red.If you like unconventional vampire films, give it a try. It won't have any secrets for you, and it won't have any surprises, but it might be amusing for a couple of hours. Don't expect it to become a favourite though.

Red-Barracuda The vampire film was very popular in Europe in the early 70's. Several key entries in the genre were released at this time such as some interesting films from Hammer Studios as well as numerous titles from specialist auteurs like Jesus Franco and Jean Rollin. Unlike the majority of films from this sub-genre, Daughters of Darkness underplays the vampirism and nudity somewhat, while still retaining a dark mood and overwhelming eroticism. It's certainly far classier than most others in the vampire genre and is committedly artistic with beautiful cinematography and costumes shot within interesting locations, with a very effective and unusual soundtrack. Its story has a honeymooning couple Stefan and Valerie end up at a deserted hotel in Ostend where the only other guests are a pair of unusual women, one of whom it turns out is the Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory.Like the later Don't Look Now (1973), Daughters of Darkness uses the strange mood of an off-season resort to great effect. Like that film too, this is a horror film that really works simultaneously as an art film too. Director Harry Kümel needs to be given a great deal of credit for the stylish presentation that always feels like it accentuates the content, rather than just being showy. The visuals are especially memorable and the use of colour quite excellent throughout, while the strange setting adds its own unorthodox atmosphere to proceedings. It has to also be added that this is still a movie that does not disregard its horror angle at the expense of artistry as there are several macabre scenes and some that go for a much more visceral approach. It's a film that operates in several ways.These things all in themselves would ensure that Daughters of Darkness would be a classic within the genre but it doesn't even take into account the presence of Delphine Seyrig. This is a calibre of actress very rarely seen in this type of movie and she is really quite magnificent as Countess Elizabeth Bathory. She oozes sensuality throughout the picture and very easily convinces as a woman capable of seducing anyone. Her mysterious acting persona is one of her gifts – see it utilised in another famous enigmatic film Last Year at Marienbad (1961) – and here it is her very screen presence that makes us believe in her supernatural character. Seyrig is clearly the star here and head and shoulders above everyone else but the rest of the cast actually do good controlled work too.Daughters of Darkness is certainly a classic of its type. It just seems to have a lot more going on in it and a pleasing ambiguity. Take for instance the character of Stefan, who it becomes clear is not only a violent sexual sadist but whose overbearing 'mother' turns out to be a very strange man instead. It's these kinds of bold moves that make the film as a whole even more fascinating and disturbing. This is undoubtedly one of the all-time great European cult horror movies for several compelling reasons.

trashgang Finally it became available, the director's cut of this 40 year old vampire flick. The weirdness is that it doesn't contain real vampires like you know them. You never see any fangs but it's the atmosphere that keep you attracted to the teevee. The other part that is funny for me is that all the places shown I have seen them, easily to explain, I grow up in Ostend in the seventies. But what an excellent flick this is, even without the gore and almost without th red stuff. There is a lot of nudity but it never becomes gratuitous. It is also strange that a Flemish director (Harry Kumel) was able to get big names, Delphine Seyrig was an icon at that time and even the others were well known then. The quality available on the Blue Underground DVD is excellent, even the sound is great, no hiss or whatsoever. It is a beauty to see and remembering that it was made without a big budget. It is indeed as stated on the sleeve erotic and unusual.

lost-in-limbo Erotic Euro-horror of the 1970s, which kind of began with a fascination for lesbian vampires parading around mixing nudity and violence in fixating web. Going a long way to make that happen, depended on what actresses you could get to allure an audience. The stylishly classy, but voluptuously psychosexual art horror "Daughters of Darkness" wins out on all counts, despite some convoluted plot mechanics. Quite unconventional, as it's a slow-burn Gothic story driven by its concentration on exploring characters (richly melancholy, tragic and sadistic if still having an ambiguity to it all) and arranging edgy, if almost fairytale-like atmospherics. There's something slightly unsettling about its tone, but while explicit it's done in a low-key manner. An unforgettable Delphine Seyrig is beautifully mesmerizing as the infamous "Scarlet Countess … Bathory" --- who bathed herself in the blood of 300 virgins for eternal youth. It's hard to take your eyes off Seyrig. An enticing Andre Rau with her striking facials (large eyes) and bob haircut plays the countess's young companion. These two characters come across a newlywed couple (John Karlen and Danielle Ouimet) staying at the same empty seaside hotel during the dead season. The countess soon becomes fascinated with the couple, especially with the wife. Director Harry Kumel crafts out an exquisitely surreal looking nightmare, where the detailed art direction (the eerily grand hotel and hauntingly isolated locations) is just as important as the story and performances. Visually captivating (like the powerful positional work in the climax), Eduard Van Der Enden's spaciously offbeat camera-work is distinctly framed in a sense if your peering in or sensually intruding while the unhinged music score is seductively expressive.