{"id":13233,"date":"2013-02-27T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2013-02-27T09:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.badreputation.org.uk\/?p=13233"},"modified":"2013-12-03T15:44:09","modified_gmt":"2013-12-03T15:44:09","slug":"guest-post-the-countess-is-waiting-for-you-daughters-of-darkness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badreputation.org.uk\/2013\/02\/27\/guest-post-the-countess-is-waiting-for-you-daughters-of-darkness\/","title":{"rendered":"[Guest Post] The Countess Is Waiting For You: Daughters of Darkness"},"content":{"rendered":"
Vampires have appeared in various incarnations throughout the
history of cinema. From lonely Nosferatu, to Dracula, to vampire
cowboys, vampire teenagers1<\/a><\/sup> and,
erm, vampire motorcycles.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n
<\/a>For a stylish, slinky and subversive depiction of a
bloodsucker,
Daughters of Darkness<\/strong> (directed by Harry
K\u00fcmel, 1971) is well worth a look. It\u2019s a hypnotic
cocktail of horror and arthouse. The DVD has a campy
Hammer-style cover and the tag line, \u2018An erotic
nightmare of vampire lust!\u2019 Subtle. For some reason,
there were a lot of lesbian vampire movies released in the
70s. However anyone looking for straight-up naughtiness will
be disappointed with
Daughters of Darkness<\/strong>. The vampires are
beautiful women, but it\u2019s not about titillation.
It\u2019s a lot weirder than that.<\/p>\n
The story: a pair of newlyweds arrive at an
out-of-season hotel in chilly Ostend. The bride \u2013
Valerie \u2013 is dressed all in white and appears to be
the picture of na\u00efve innocence. The groom \u2013
Stefan \u2013 has a handsome face, but there\u2019s
something not quite right about his smile. It almost
looks like a sneer.<\/p>\n
Their relationship appears to be a bit, well, peculiar.
She\u2019s concerned that he hasn\u2019t told his mother
about their marriage. He seems to be in no hurry to do
so. Prior to their unscheduled stop-in at this beautiful
but lonely place, they have both confessed that they
don\u2019t love one another and both seem okay with
this. And then, during dinner, the sapphic vampire
aristocrat arrives with her assistant\/lover.<\/p>\n
The Countess Bathory, played with otherworldly grace and
just a hint of vulnerability by Delphine Seyrig, tells
the couple that she is a descendant of the infamously
murderous Hungarian countess<\/a>. (A real
historical character and template for the
\u2018glamorous female vampire\u2019 archetype,
Elizabeth Bathory was supposed to have been a serial
killer but apparently wasn\u2019t really into drinking
virgins’ blood. That was a rumour that came about
years after her death. The real Countess was never a
vampire, just as Catherine the Great probably never even
got to first base with any horses.)<\/p>\n
Her loving description of the horrors her ancestor
inflicted on young ladies gets Stefan a bit excited.
Valerie is horrified. At first. And then the couple are
drawn into the vampire\u2019s world. In which the
notions of victim and monster get turned sideways. And
then the film briefly shows us Stefan\u2019s
\u2018Mother\u2019. (As the the none-more-seventies
voiceover man enthuses in the film\u2019s trailer,
\u2018She\u2019s something else!\u2019).<\/p>\n
And there are some deaths. Including death by
bowl.<\/p>\n
Yes, bowl. And a lovely crystal bowl it is too. And
someone knocks an entire lobster on the floor in the
act. Such decadence! The film could be read as a
mediation on power and relationships. (In their own
ways, Countess Bathory and Stefan are both bullies.) Or
an exercise in playing around with genre tropes. Or a
daft-but-enjoyable confection of crazy featuring some
splendid outfits (sequins, feathers, PVC capes!).<\/p>\n
Actually, it\u2019s probably a bit of all of these.
It\u2019s a strange and beautiful work. Even the bits
that make you snigger might crop up in your dreams a
long time after you\u2019ve seen it.<\/p>\n
\n