Daughters of Darkness (1971) by Harry Kümel

Director: Harry Kümel

Year: 1971

Country: Belgium/France/West Germany

Alternate Titles: Les lèvres rouges; Erzebeth; House of Shame; Blood on the Lips; Children of the Night; The Promise of Red Lips; The Red Lips; The Redness of the Lips

Genre: Vampire

Plot:

Visiting a lavish hotel, a newlywed couple waiting for a boat to take them to a different country to meet his parents finds their enigmatic neighbor at the hotel is apparently up to nefarious activities during the trip, and slowly comes to realize the deadly truth behind her visit.

Review:

This was a pretty solid and enjoyable genre effort. Among the more likable factors with this one stems from the highly effective and generally enjoyable setup that sets the stage for the elegant Gothic atmosphere to come. Setting the duo up on their honeymoon trip through Europe on their way to the parents’ house to meet up and share the news about the situation, the different issues that they began fighting about, and how the arrival at the seemingly empty hotel for their trip manages to set up a rather fun starting point. The idea of their being such issues, including the strained relationship with his mother and their woeful sex life, this early into the relationship puts a fine touch on what’s going on, as there’s a part of them already at odds with each other that it can be teased and tugged on to help split them apart.

That comes about incredibly well with the Countess’ arrival at the same hotel and the psychological mind-games that start playing out. With the hints and digs at her seducing the husband and the wife separately in the course of her stay, it all brings about different bits of jealousy and resentment that only get brought to the forefront when the Countess’ attractive sister is introduced to help pull the husband away further. The fact that this allows for the lesbian seduction to occur not just with scenes of them hanging out together or indulging in their erotic encounters while continuously bringing up how little she’s attracted to him compared to her more elegant interactions. The final half picks up in terms of action and thrills with how the different forces resolve their targets and get everything resolved, and with the fine nudity displayed, is what makes for a fun time here.

When it goes beyond these factors, this one does fall slightly flat. The main factor here is the pacing, where the main focus in the first hour on relationship melodrama keeps any real attempt at action off-screen for the most part. Witnessing the two argue with each other and fight over the intentions behind the Countess’ interactions with them creates a strong atmosphere but also doesn’t leave a lot of opportunities to get any kind of vampiric action, which is kept to a minimum. Had it been anything like the films’ supposed attempt at action with the accidental death in the shower, then it’s all for the better, with that being one of the clumsiest and unintentionally awkward scenes in the genre, similar to how everything is wrapped up, so these scenes just come across as silly. These are really the only factors keeping it down.

Overview: ***.5/5

A fun enough if somewhat sluggish Eurohorror effort, there’s enough to like with this one that it manages to be quite worthwhile for what it is, even though its issues do keep it down somewhat. Those with an appreciation for this style or approach, as well as the more devout fans of Eurohorror in general, will have the most to like here, while most others might want to heed caution.