David O'Connell
Daughters of Darkness
January 23rd 2007 18:54
Personally, I ask, why did we stop making lesbian vampire movies? Aren't they the best kind?
The term 'lesbian vampire' for a genre, seems trashy and vulgar, but Daughters of Darkness is anything but... even though the plot is ludicrous and the dubbing awful, it's still quality filmmaking, with restrained pace and interesting character moments on screen.
In fact, by today's standards, there's nothing shocking or exploitative about this film at all. A little blood, very few ghoulish scenes, and no real sex scenes. I think people would be more likely to be offended at the American Pie series of films.
What is breathtaking to watch, however, is the long-drawn out exposition. We know, because we read the back of the DVD case, that there are vampires, The vampires even reveal themselves to the viewer early in the film, and the characters already suspect something odd.
We don't see: vampires flying, turning into bats, sucking blood like cliched eroticism. In fact, they seem oddly mortal and fallible in Daughters of Darkness, which is a refreshing change from modern horror movies. And instead of leaping on their victims, the head vampiress seduces the young woman that she wants, turning her against her man.
Though slow-moving, Daughters of Darkness is an entertaining reminder of horror in the early 70s. We've all become desensitized to the idea of gentle macabre, but the atmosphere and the eroticism of lesbian vampires is enough to keep this film charged up with enough energy to hold our interest.
For a terrific review of the film, I suggest the DVD Verdict article.
OR check out Bryn's review of another lesbian vampire movie, Vampyres.
I say: See this film if you like horror, the 70s, lesbians or vampires. Ideally, all four.
See it for: Strangely enough, the vampires aren't the most sadistic characters in this film...
* this image taken from the Amazon page on Daughters of Darkness.
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Comment by JohnDoe
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Comment by Sisi
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I reviewed this because there'll be another lesbian vampire movie showing for the Sydney Mardi Gras, and I'll link them together.
Sisi, I think you've probably got a long list of other movies to watch... plus this one is tough to find, I guess.
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Comment by Bryn
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Hmmm, was there not a foreign language/English subtitle option?? It's loosely based on the infamous legend of Count Elizabeth Bathory who had young virgin girls lured to her castle and then tortured and drained of blood so she could bathe in it to retain her youth ... siiiiiiiiiiick!
Glad you appreciated its arthouse pretentions and Euro-deep trash stylistics ... (p.s. I'd never lend you cheese Cibby, perhaps a little fromage, but never pure cheese).
Comment by Cibbuano
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...in Canada, I saw this really gruesome movie about that Countess... she actually had the 300 girls come to her castle, bathe and clean themselves before she killed them all for blood. Do you know the name of that movie?
Comment by DuskDevi
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