When I first noticed Harry Kümel’s “Daughters of Darkness,” and read the summary about the film, I became intrigued due to a particular character. I have always entertained a fascination with Elizabeth Bathory, and for those of you who are unfamiliar with her, she thought that blood possessed the power to bestow upon the skin and organs eternal youth, and believing thus, she slaughtered many virgin girls so that she could bathe in their blood. “She pierced their veins with rusty nails, and then slit their throats.” Of fucking corpse that is my kind of lady, one of the most vicious and insane women of history, in my humble opinion. So naturally when I read that Countess Bathory would make an appearance in the film, I wanted to see it. I am pleased to say I was not entirely disappointed.
The movie begins by getting viewers acquainted with a young couple, Stefan and Valerie (portrayed by John Karlen and Danielle Ouimet) who have just been married. The couple passes through a vacation resort and winds up running into the mysterious and enchanting Countess Bathory (portrayed by Delphine Syerig), who right away takes a fancy to the couple. The Countess, however, also has a companion with her already, a woman named Ilona (portrayed by Andrea Rau) who is in love with lady Bathory, and she professes jealousy that her companion’s attention is elsewhere. For some reason, I never pictured Bathory as a blonde, but it seems to work well for Syerig and she plays a most convincing Bathory. Her performance is cold, intense, and provocative.
One criticism I have is of the horrid orange robe Karlen is forced to don for part of the film. Everyone else looks stylish, and he is in this robe and nothing else (which makes him look somewhat insane). Not that he didn’t already look insane when he beat his wife with a belt for no apparent reason. That would be my second criticism…not quite sure why Stefan’s character had the dark streak when he intends to be a hero in saving Valerie from Bathory later on in the film. His characterization, I felt, was the weakest link in this film. He acts very shady at first about talking to his mother and telling her of the wedding, and then calls home and some guy answers, but viewers never figure out who this dude is or why ‘it would be bad if she found out about them.’ When Bathory and Valerie wind up killing him and drinking blood out of his slit wrists, I was amused because his character was annoying.
Though this is an older film and has a somewhat slow pace to the action, I have to say it was a good movie that I enjoyed watching. Syerig delivers a wicked performance and there are parts of the plot that are particularly intriguing. Number of killers? Four. Body Count? Five. Boob Count? Three. Cheap Thrills? Zero. Actual Spooks Endured: One. Entertainment? For sure. Raven’s Scream Meter Says: 3 out of 5 Screams. Another enjoyable foreign flick, with a moderate amount of gore to satiate the horror fiend's appetite.
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