Daughters of Darkness (1971)
"Les lèvres rouges" (original title)

A newlywed couple are passing through a vacation resort. Their paths cross with a mysterious, strikingly beautiful countess and her aide.

Director:

Harry Kümel

Writers:

Pierre Drouot (scenario), Harry Kümel (scenario),

Stars:

Delphine Seyrig, John Karlen, Danielle Ouimet

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Delphine Seyrig	...	Countess Bathory
John Karlen	...	Stefan
Danielle Ouimet	...	Valerie
Andrea Rau	...	Ilona Harczy
Paul Esser	...	Hotel clerk
Georges Jamin	...	Retired Policeman
Joris Collet	...	Butler
Fons Rademakers	...	Mother

Storyline

A chic, good-looking and suitably 70's couple arrive at an extravagant and deserted seaside hotel after eloping. Stefan is wealthy and happily English, with a hidden streak of sadism, while Valarie is intelligent but of inferior (Swedish) blood. To keep her with him at the eerie hotel he lies consistantly about his relationship with his mother and his plans to tell her of their marriage. Meanwhile he has mysterious phone conversations with an older, dominant and pampered sissy. Two fresh guests arrive; the Hungarian countess, Elizabeth Bathory and her voluptuous protege, Ilona. Virgin corpses begin showing up about the city drained of their blood. A wary detective lurks around the hotel taunting his only suspect, the Countess.

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Plot Keywords:

blood | newlywed | murder | female rear nudity | gothic | 

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Taglines:

These are the Daughters of Darkness... They are waiting for you - They thrive on BLOOD

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Belgium France West Germany

Language:

Dutch English

Release Date:

22 October 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Daughters of Darkness

Filming Locations:

Brugge, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Company Credits

Production Co:

Showking Films, Maya Films, Ciné Vog Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 100 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2007, Harry Kümel revealed in an Interview that initially, Delphine Seyrig, already being a well-renowned icon of sophisticated European cinema, wasn't too eager to take the part of the Countess Bathory when he sent her the script. Seyrig's Boyfriend, famous French Director Alain Resnais, was a big fan of graphic novels and when he imagined Kümel's material and idea of the film to be something of a graphic novel, he enthusiastically convinced Seyrig to take the offer. Kümel also said that, at that time, he and his co-writers thought Seyrig's consent was "too good to be true".

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Quotes

Countess Bathory: It is since long that I have crossed the river Ocean!

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Connections

Featured in Daughters of Darkness: Locations of Darkness (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Daughters of Darkness"
Sung by Lainie Cooke

User Reviews

Part masterpiece/part schlock

I first saw this movie when I was 12 and it had a huge impact on my early artistic endeavors as a young man. I've seen it periodically over the years and can see what intrigued me about it so much. It's part Ingmar Bergman film and part bad vampire movie. There are some beautifully filmed scenes along with some awful dialogue. The brilliant Delphine Seyrig is superbly creepy. The other performances are only mediocre. The music is appropriately over the top; sometimes sinister, sometimes goofy- seventies movie. The new director's cut contains more sex and nudity, probably to avoid getting an x-rating at the time of release. It's definitely worth checking out if you've never seen it.