Daughters of Darkness
Short description
In the Belgian seaside resort of Ostend, a newlywed couple, Stefan and Valerie, arrive at a grand but faded hotel. There they encounter the enigmatic Countess Báthory and her secretary Ilona, and the meeting draws the young pair into the orbit of the older, more worldly woman. The film blends drama, horror and thriller elements as the relationship between the two couples develops within the hotel's decaying surroundings.
Daughters of Darkness was directed by Harry Kümel, who wrote the screenplay with Pierre Drouot and Jean Ferry, and was produced by Paul Collet and Henry Lange. It was Kümel's first feature in the chronological list of his work, preceding Malpertuis the following year. Delphine Seyrig leads the cast as Countess Elizabeth Báthory, alongside John Karlen and Danielle Ouimet as Stefan and Valerie Chilton, Andrea Rau as Ilona Harczy, Paul Esser as the hotel concierge Pierre, and Georges Jamin. A German, Belgian and French co-production, it runs 100 minutes.
The film holds a 6.5 rating on IMDb from around 8,100 votes and a 6.2 on TMDB from over two hundred votes. A critics' rating of 7 out of 10 from 25 reviews places critical appraisal somewhat above the audience scores on both platforms.
What's left behind the scenes
- At the insistence of Maya Films, the film's title for French release was changed from the original "Le rouge aux lèvres" to "Les Lèvres rouges." Later, a large number of different titles appeared in various countries for local release: from overtly exploitative—the Italian "Vestala di Satane" ("Satanic Virgins")—to more moderate—the English "The Promise of Red Lips" (an alternative title for British release)—to ambiguous—the English "Erzebeth, Blood Love" and the English "Children of the Night." The most frequently used version was for the American release—"Daughters of Darkness."
- The film was shot and dubbed entirely in English, despite the fact that the majority of the cast came from France, Germany, and Flanders (Belgium). Unlike most genre European films of the 1970s, no other actors were used for subsequent dubbing.
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