Daughters of Darkness
dir. Harry Kümel · 1971
A couple arrives at a lavish yet desolate seaside hotel, their honeymoon quickly overshadowed by the sinister presence of the enigmatic Countess Elizabeth Bathory. As they navigate the hotel’s opulence, secrets unravel, revealing a world where desire and danger intertwine. Watching this film is like stepping into a dream where beauty masks horror, and every glance carries the weight of unspoken truths.
A chic, good-looking and suitably 70's couple arrive at an extravagant and deserted seaside hotel after eloping. Stefan is wealthy and happily English, with a hidden streak of sadism, while Valarie is intelligent but of inferior (Swedish) blood. To keep her with him at the eerie hotel he lies consistantly about his relationship with his mother and his plans to tell her of their marriage. Meanwhile he has mysterious phone conversations with an older, dominant and pampered sissy. Two fresh guests arrive; the Hungarian countess, Elizabeth Bathory and her voluptuous protege, Ilona. Virgin corpses begin showing up about the city drained of their blood. A wary detective lurks around the hotel taunting his only suspect, the Countess.
