DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS 1971 lecinemadreams.blogspot.com/2016/06/daughters-of-darkness-1971.html
“I’m just an outmoded character, nothing more. You know, the beautiful stranger, slightly sad, slightly…mysterious...that haunts one place after another.” In spite of their vast number and long history, I’m not sure I can name even five vampire movies I like. There’s Andy Warhol’s Dracula (1974), Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), The Hunger (1983), and… OK, looks like I hit the wall at three. Well, make that four; for topping this very short list and ranking #1 as my absolute favorite vampire movie of all time is Belgian director Harry Kümel’ssleek, sexy, and exceedingly stylish Daughters of Darkness. A Belgian/French/Italian/U.S. co-production, Daughters of Darkness combines—with wit and flair—‘70s arthouse sophistication with good ol’ grindhouse exploitation in the telling of a modern-day Countess Dracula myth set in a desolate, cavernous hotel in Belgium. Conceived as a strictly commercial venture contingent on the internationally market-friendly ingredients of bosoms and bloodshed, Daughters of Darkness, in the hands of Harry Kümel (whose other work I’m unfamiliar with) undergoes a kind of alchemic transformation. A transformation wherein the alternatively limiting factors of a low budget, brief shooting schedule, somewhat trashy material, and minimal cast of unevenly-skilled actors with clashing accents—become the very elements which, when combined, contribute the most to defining the offbeat allure and eerie fascination of this film.
1/15
Delphine Seyrig as Countess Elizabeth Bathory
John Karlen as Stefan Chilton
2/15
Danielle Ouimet as Valerie Chilton
Andrea Rau as Ilona Harczy
3/15
Paul Esser as Pierre
When the train of a honeymooning couple jumps the track (literally and metaphorically), the pair, having wed in Switzerland just three hours hence and now en route to England, is temporarily waylaid in Ostend, Belgium. Stefan, the groom (Karlen), strangely reluctant to reach their destination and have his bride Valerie (Ouimet) meet her aristocratic mother-in-law, suggests a brief stay at an off-season beach resort where they are the only guests.“It’s rather dead around here this time of the year,” intones Pierre (Paul Esser) the concierge. That is, until night falls and an exquisite, 1940s vintage Bristol motorcar arrives at the hotel, from which emerge a mysterious, vaguely predatory, smoky-voiced Hungarian countess (Seyrig) and her exotically overripe “secretary,” Ilona (Rau). Descending upon the establishment like a couple of, well...vampire bats, upon catching sight of our unwitting honeymooners (who, given the degree of duplicity and discord already manifest between the two, appear to have met and married in haste) our chichi new guests immediately lay claim.
4/15
"...both so perfect. So good-looking. So sweet." The concierge recognizes the unchanged Countess from 40-years earlier, when he was just a young bellboy at the hotel
Veiling steely determination behind a charming smile and the kind of languid savior faire unique to the very rich and well-traveled, the glamorously debauched countess wastes no time insinuating herself into the lives of the newlyweds (think Eva Gabor as Marlene Dietrich cast as a lesbian Auntie Mame). Corruption of the innocent is the goal and possession of that which is most desired is the objective, but the countess and her protégé soon find the path to seduction is not without its obstructions. There’s the persistent interference of the suspicious and bewildered hotel concierge who always seems to materialize on the periphery of the action (“He’s already up…when does he sleep?” snaps the countess at one point). And then there’s that other figure from the countess’ past, a retired policeman (Georges Jamin) engaged in the amateur investigation of a recent rash of murders of young women. But it is Stefan, the not-quite better half of our virtuous couple, who may not be all that he seems. Sharing with the countess an eerily simpatico affinity for brutality and the hypnotic allure of decadence, Stephan is both match and pawn to the countess’ femme fatale charm. And true to form, Stephan is yet another self-assured male who enters into a game thinking he holds all the cards, only to discover that the women in his life have rewritten the rules. 5/15
The Happy Couple Both Roman Polanski (Bitter Moon) & Paul Schrader (The Comfort of Strangers ) have made interesting films about debauched couples intent on seducing innocent, unsuspecting couples
Daughters of Darkness is a knowing (and sometimes winking) take on the vampire film, alternately sending up and paying homage to a genre that, by the '70s, was in dire need of a transfusion. In playing it straight, yet with a touch of clever malice, the film‒not unlike the countess herself ‒ exists tantalizingly between two worlds: it’s both a deliberately leisurely, aesthetic horror film and an amusingly camp Eurotrash skin flick. The unified benefit to each is that the arty side never has the chance to become pretentious, and the exploitation side is surprisingly, refreshingly restrained and imbued with a great deal of sophistication and sly wit. Stylistically, Daughters of Darkness is a knockout, making subtle visual reference to other genre films and cinema in general. Among them: Hitchcock’s Psycho, Garbo, Louise Brooks, the horror tropes of F. W. Murnau and Tod Browning, and Dietrich’s von Sternberg collaborations. It's a film so comfortable in its self-awareness that at one point a character (the detective) breaks the fourth wall, looks directly into the camera, and identifies the film's tone and wry perspective.
Georges Jamin as the Retired Policeman reminds us not to take what is to follow too seriously 6/15
“The kind of thing you read about in medieval manuscripts. You know, silly tales about ghosts chased away by garlic…and vampires shrinking from crosses and running water and daylight. Satan’s ritual under a full moon.” The neoclassic opulence of the desolate Belgian sea resort makes for a picturesque alternative to the usual gothic vampire castle, while the desolate backdrop of a vacation spot in the bleakness of winter predates Nicolas Roeg’s similar use of Venice, Italy in the 1974 supernatural thriller Don’t Look Now (especially the scene where Stefan & Valerie explore the canals of Bruges and happen upon the scene of a brutal murder). I can’t attest as to what a horror/vampire film fan makes of Daughters of Darkness (my sense is that it’s too slow and lacking in scares and gore to be satisfying); but everything about this movie is as suited to my tastes as a Ken Russell-Roman Polanski film festival.
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS FILM There’s a kind of predictable, to-be-expected adherence to form and structure that comes with the territory of genre films. Filmmakers deviate from it at their own risk. As a movie fan, I can’t help but give historical credit to horror films in general for their vast stylistic influence on the art form, as such. But as a non-fan of vampire films, it helped a great deal that I came to Daughters of Darkness with little in the way of expectations and devoid of an awareness of any vampire film "traditions" I longed to see upheld. I simply hoped the film wouldn’t live up to 7/15
its limp U.S. ad campaign and that cheesy title, which made the film sound like a made-for-TV movie starring Donna Mills and Kay Lenz. To my delight, Daughters of Darkness proved to be one happy surprise after another. It felt both old-fashioned and invigoratingly fresh. An arty exploitation film that I fell in love with the the moment Delphine Seyrig’s elegant vampire makes her memorable entrance.
"I want to be loved. I want everybody to love me."
In addition to what I find irresistible about the concept of Daughters of Darkness (for my money, female vampires are just waaaay cooler than their male counterparts), my comparing it to the works of Polanski and Russell is at least stylistically apt. Director Harry Kümel, who has stated he was influenced a great deal by surreal and expressionist cinema in devising a look for the film, gives Daughters of Darkness a operatic theatricality reminiscent of Ken Russell (as much as its meager budget allows). Vivid use of color abounds (pointedly, red, black, and white) and the compositions are arresting in their beauty and effectiveness. The similarities to Polanski arise out of the film’s measured pacing, claustrophobic atmosphere, and emphasis on psycho-sexual conflict. Manipulation is indistinguishable from seduction. Evasion is revelatory. Pain is pleasure. Harry Kümel has taken stock characters and genre tropes and created one of the most gleefully sleek, consistently surprising, intriguingly stylish horror films I’ve ever seen.
8/15
Worthy of Polanski A nightmarish shot of the pre-dawn disposal of a dead body as two figures (looking like winged creatures in black & white) retreat into the distance
PERFORMANCES Successful casting is always a result of a great deal more than simply hiring capable actors. Many an enjoyable film has been populated with folks who couldn’t act their way out of a broom closet (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls), while numerous stinkers feature casts who have to move their Oscar & Tony Awards out of the way to get to the door (August: Osage County). It's easy to understand why Kümel was able to secure financing for Daughters of Darkness exclusively due to the participation French film star Delphine Seyrig (Last Year at Marienbad); she is the main reason the film is worth seeing at all. Everything about the film – from décor, cinematography, screenplay, and supporting cast – feels as though it is in service of and silent acquiescence to, her extraordinary presence and canny performance. She’s really that good, and so incredibly fascinating to watch.
Things That make You Go Hmmm Stefan is brought to a state of ecstasy recounting the bloody atrocities of Elizabeth's ancestor
Possessing an unforgettably seductive voice, Seyrig conducts herself with a kind of otherworldly regal aplomb making plausible the film’s conceit that her character is not (as she claims) the ancestor of Countess Elizabeth Bathory (a notorious true-life 15th century serial killer) but the genuine, ageless article. Best of all, Seyrig’s characterization is a refreshing interpretation of the female vampire. She dispenses with the clichés of the predatory vamp or femme fatale (no dark, sultry gazes or feline stalking); rather, she plays Countess Bathory as though she were a pampered cinema queen: eager to please, desperate to be liked, all disarming smiles and solicitous attentions, yet underneath it all, a despotic monster.
9/15
Another personal fave in the film is Ilona, the countess' pouty companion with the sexy 3-D lips. As embodied by German pinup model/actress Andrea Rau (who lends camp appeal by resembling a kewpie-doll Sally Bowles) her limitations as an actress are more than compensated for by her striking presence, appealing screen charisma, and a vague "otherness" that comes across in stilted line readings befitting her status as an alluringly louche member of the undead. "I wish I could die."
My general antipathy toward vampires accounts for my not recognizing - until fairly recently actor John Karlen as Willie Loomis of the popular mid-60s vampire TV soap opera Dark Shadows(I was practically the only kid in my school who didn't watch it). As Stefan, Brooklynborn Karlen, the only American in the cast, oozes so much Eurotrash skeeviness, I always assumed he was European. So, on that score at least, he certainly succeeds, and gives a solid, tensely mercurial performance. Though it pains me to say so, hands-down prizes for the film's worst performance go to former Miss Quebec, Danielle Ouimet. It pains me because Ms. Ouiment’s barely discernible acting ability (she’s singularly inexpressive of voice and face) strangely works to her advantage in the context of the film. Surrounded by the morally desiccated people in a surreal environment under fantastic circumstances, Ouimet’s somewhat dazed countenance comes off as stylized and subtextural; as though the sole character in the film in possession of a soul is the one least able to express emotion. 10/15
"Be sure to tell the young woman 'Mother' sends regards." Stefan is revealed to be the kept "Ilona" in a homosexual May/December pairing. The feared "Mother" is portrayed by Dutch film director Fons Rademakers
THE STUFF OF DREAMS Whether considered an arty trash film or a trashy art film (I personally think it’s a special kind of high-style pop masterpiece), Daughters of Darkness is a great deal of campy fun. I know next to nothing about Harry Kümel, but were I to go by the way this film makes me feel and how it engages me with its visuals, its sharp screenplay (credited to Kümel, Jean Ferry, Pierre Druot, and Manfred R. Köhler), and Seyrig’s knowing evocation of the film sirens of yesteryear; I would say he is a man who not only loves movies but understands them. It’s evident in every frame. I'm a sucker (Hee hee!) for thematic a visual duality in movies
11/15
Les Lèvres Rouges (Red Lips) is just one of Daughter of Darkness' 14 international titles
12/15
Ever the illusionist, Elizabeth carries a mirrored compact despite (her being a vampire and all) not being able to see her own reflection
THE STUFF OF DREAMS Apropos of the timeless beauty of Seyrig's Countess Bathory herself, Daughters of Darkness is a film that looks better to me with each passing year. Save for a rather harrowing shower scene and a still-creepy nighttime burial sequence, the sex and violence that once seemed so sensational is now rather tame. Similarly, with movies now becoming faster and busier, yet saying less; the deliberate pacing of Daughters of Darkness feels like a welcome extravagance. Even the film's camp elements, in this age of overkill and overdetermination, sparkles on a far more ingenious plane than what I seem to remember ("Good day to be alive, eh?" remarks the countess in forced jocularity to the concierge upon returning to the hotel after a particularly grisly homicidal outing).
13/15
It's Not Easy Having A Good Time
In the end, you've got to hand it to a director told to go out and make a commercial film with plenty of sex and violence, and he comes back with an erotic expressionist feminist lesbian arthouse camp vampire horror mini-classic.
BONUS MATERIAL
14/15
Director Harry Kümel talks about Daughters of Darkness in the excellent BBC documentary Horror Europa (2012) by Mark Gattis. He's the first director interviewed, and he sheds fascinating light on the reasons behind his choices for the look of the countess and the dominance of the colors red, black, and white. Available on YouTube HERE. I also understand that the DVD release is loaded with commentaries and extras. *6/10/16 Update - Just watched the DVD and listened to Harry Kümel's commentary. Incredible evidence that one can be handed a genre film and still imbue it with an aesthetic sensibility. Of course, I especially love when he says "Films are not reality...they are dreams. They are the stuff that dreams are made of." A man after my own heart.
Copyright © Ken Anderson
15/15