Cult Movie: Daughters of Darkness
Lesbian Vampire Movie stars Delphine Seyrig in Bravura Performance
Oct 6, 2008
The 1971 film stars the luminous and mysterious Delphine Seyrig as the legendary, real life Elizabeth Bathory, whose link to vampire lore lies with her alleged passion for bathing in human blood.
Seyrig, perhaps best known for her role in what could be the European cinema’s most unwatchable film, Last Year at Marienbad, is seduction personified as the Countess Bathory. Her conquests include Elizabeth’s lover Ilona, played by the exquisite Andrea Rau, and especially, the newlywed couple Stefan and Valerie, portrayed by John Karlen and Danielle Ouimet.
Cagney and Lacey Connection
Karlen's name may ring a bell. A decade later, the American actor turned up as a regular on TV's Cagney and Lacey, as Tyne Daly's beefy, working-class husband. But here, he is rail thin, affects a vaguely European accent, and can't help leering and drooling over both Ilona and Valerie, whom he pursues with equal vigor.
Canadian-born Ouimet seems to have been cast simply because she is breathtakingly beautiful. And with an ice-queen veneer, Ouimet is catnip for the ravenous seductress, Elizabeth.
Lesbian Theme
The movie takes a languorous trip through a lesbian prism of vampire conventions. Elizabeth and Ilona arrive at a small but elegant hotel in Ostend, Belgium, just as the newlyweds are getting settled. Elizabeth ingratiates herself, and before you know it, the foursome is dining together -- and Elizabeth is flirting shamelessly.
She evinces an interest in Stefan, but we quickly surmise her real jones is for his exquisite bride.
Stefan, meantime, seems little more than Eurotrash -- and he can't help flirting with Ilona. Sensing an opportunity to seize control, Elizabeth contrives to have her lover return Stefan's advances so she can have Valerie all to herself.
But alas, twists and deadly complications arise. Stefan is compromised, and in a sublime moment of pure eroticism, Valerie succumbs to Elizabeth's silky spell.
Erotic Atmosphere
Director Harry Kumel ratchets up the atmosphere with an outrageous use of color, particularly blood red, which he uses to great effect in scene transitions. There's playfulness in both the look and the performances here, and you get a sense of near-mirth in the arch and erotic undertones of many scenes.
But at the blood-pumping heart of the movie is the steely and seductive Delphine Seyrig. Her Sapphic sociopath manages to seduce effortlessly, and somehow, with shadings of sadness and longing, she makes the Countess ultimately sympathetic. It's a wondrous portrayal that stays in your head for a long time.
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