7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 3.6 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Elizabeth Bathory is an ageless Countess with a beautiful young 'companion' and a legendary legacy of perversion. But when the two women seduce a troubled newlywed couple, they unleash a frenzy of sudden violence and depraved desire that shocked both art house audiences and grindhouse crowds worldwide.
Starring: Delphine Seyrig, John Karlen, Danielle Ouimet, Andrea Rau, Paul EsserHorror | 100% |
Erotic | 21% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
French: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Human blood was the elixir of youth.
Believe it or not, there was a time, many moons ago, when Vampires weren't hotbod sparkly teenagers bickering over petty love interests and
rivalries with equally hunky werewolves. There was a time before Vampirism had been reduced to something only a little more challenging than a
cheap after school special, and there was
even a time before the days of Vampire movies that were more about guns and violence than they were about the art of seduction and the quiet,
inner
terrors and outer eroticisms that defined a generation of Vampire pictures. Daughters of Darkness is one such movie of the latter
category,
a quintessential 1970s
Erotica film that's more about subdued styling, characterization, and hints of the off-limits rather than bunches of phony emotions, cheap dialogue,
soft-core sex, and gratuitous
violence better left for straight-up Action pictures. Directed by Harry Kümel, Daughters of Darkness is a deliberately-paced thinking man's
Erotica Vampire film, the picture a meshing of the art house and drive-in styles whereby it is extravagant and smartly-crafted but also obviously
done a
bit on the cheap. Though low on actual physical and visual violence and eroticism, Daughters of Darkness works more on the implied, is
structured more around the spoken word, and depends on its characters and their interactions to subtly and slowly but most assuredly build an
engaging tale of seduction, uncertainty, and fear that's more deeply-rooted in the heart of the film as opposed to what is generally nowadays a
more
superficially-dependent genre.
Three's a crowd. And sparkly. And red.
Daughters of Darkness arrives on Blu-ray with a nice-looking 1080p transfer, but it's not one without flaws. As for the good first, Blue Underground's release sports good-looking details as evidenced by the quality of the lush hotel appointments , the texture of a brick façade, or the fine stitches and adornments on clothing. Viewers will enjoy a fair sense of depth, too, as seen, for instance, in the sprawling hotel lobby scenes. Colors are generally cold and sterile and neutral, but reds -- the film's primary bright shade -- can be blindingly brilliant in spots. Blacks are generally good and crush is only a minor concern. Flesh tones appear nicely balanced throughout the movie. A fair bit of spiky, heavy grain is retained over the image, but the print appears free of excess damage -- scratches, pops, dirt, and the like. Unfortunately, banding, blocking, occasional edge enhancement, and some aliasing are all present throughout the movie, enough to knock down the score and rise to the level of "eyesore" in a few places, but Blue Underground's transfer is generally a nice-looking one of vintage quality. The good certainly outweighs the bad.
Daughters of Darkness debuts on Blu-ray with a paltry but efficient DTS-HD MA 1.0 soundtrack. The track is, obviously, extremely limited in range by its very nature, but it's still not without issues. The track often plays as chunky, cramped, and tinny, delivering a fairly unsatisfying listen but one that nevertheless must be balanced against what must be low-grade original elements. Dialogue, screams, and the like can play as somewhat high pitched, occasionally sounding almost detached from the picture, not meshing particularly well against the on-screen visuals. General ambience, of course, is focused straight up the middle, but the track manages to get a fair bit of mileage out of seagulls, a blowing fog horn, and the like, none of which may fill the soundstage with sonic bliss but that do add a bit of life to a decidedly bland track. There's not much to this one outside of dialogue and some cramped musical cues. It gets the job done and is generally fine for what it is and the sort of movie it accompanies. Smart and realistic expectations are key going in.
Daughters of Darkness features an excellent collection of film-related supplements, including two audio commentary tracks and several
enlightening interviews. The inclusion of a bonus feature-length film earns this release a rare perfect supplemental score, even if most extras
appear
in standard definition.
Though this is not a traditionally "enjoyable" picture in the "mindless" sense of the term, it is one that's fairly smart, handsomely photographed, and accompanied by several great performances, headlined by Delphine Seyrig who delivers a wonderfully diabolic and highly complex effort hidden behind a façade of high class and mental and physical temptations. Daughters of Darkness is a prime example of the more laid back, quiet, deliberate sort of Vampire/Erotica pictures that were a favorite of the 1970s. Though its eroticism is often more implied and felt than it is physically projected onto the screen, the film oozes sensuality and sexual tension and makes for a fascinating and satisfying, but not necessarily entertaining, motion picture. Blue Underground's Blu-ray release of Daughters of Darkness features a fair technical presentation and an excellent array of extra content, including a bonus feature-length picture. Recommended.
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