Rent Daughters of Darkness (1971)

Les lèvres rouges - Daughters of Darkness review by NP

John Karlen, famous with horror fans as Willie Loomis in the gothic American daytime soap Dark Shadows, here plays Stefan. We're not sure what to make of him. Introduced hopelessly in love with his slightly drippy new bride Valerie (Danielle Ouimet), he reveals himself to have a much darker, violent side to him. And wait until you meet his mother!

Ouirnet is the weakest performer in this otherwise monumental Belgian/French/German production. It embraces the style of the European horrors of the time - much blood, arty direction, lower budget - but also adds a great deal more, much of it supplied by the magnificent Delphine Seyrig. The name of her character, Countess Elizabeth Báthory, might well give away some clues as to her lifestyle, and Seyrig plays it with every last drop of deadly sensuality. Andrea Rau rounds up the central performances as the dark-haired, ultimately tragic Ilona Harczy.

Director ensures that the settings for these icily seductive goings-on match the opulence of the performances by filming Hotel Astoria, Brussels, itself picturesque, from a variety of imaginative angles, to give this out-of-season building a real sense of emptiness, of isolation. Infusing certain scenes with a splash of red - either on clothing, curtains or wine - gives an additional sense of bloodiness.

Eschewing most of its contemporaries and emerging as very much a film on its own, watching Daughters of Darkness is an unsettling, but very haunting experience. Timeless horror at its most bewitching. Fully recommended.

Kitsch but fun Euro-horror. - Daughters of Darkness review by Steve

Sort of a Hammer art film, but Belgian. Slow, but engrossing. Trashy, but stylish. And sexy too. Namechecks the Elizabeth Bathory legend used in Countess Dracula.

The naked female vampire has bikini marks. But it's nice to know.

No fear! - Daughters of Darkness review by CP Customer

Pretty bizzare foreign Vamp with amusing dubbing and pretty odd plot but just about kept me interested to the end. No need to leave the lights on for this one as not the slightest bit scary.. although whoever wrote is must be pretty scary!