From the works of Jean Rollin to Franco's Vampyros Lesbos, the ‘lesbian vampire' boom of the early 70s blessed horror cinema with some of the most sexy, succulent, and politically sharp entries into the bloodsucker canon. Standing as a gorgeously Gothic highlight from 1971 is Harry Kümel's Daughters of Darkness, which, even over 50 years since its release, still feels woefully underseen.

Drawing inspiration from Hungarian countess and alleged serial killer Elizabeth Báthory, Daughters of Darkness follows newlyweds Stefan (John Karlen) and Valerie (Danielle Ouimet) checking into a quiet seaside hotel in coastal Belgium, where they meet the beautiful and beguiling Elizabeth (Delphine Seyrig) and her secretary Ilona (Andrea Rau). Against a backdrop of bloody murder, the four become entwined in a disturbing saga of sex, power, and sinister sanguinary revelations.

Watching the new 4K restoration of Daughters of Darkness from an era filled with flat CGI and poorly lit nighttime scenes feels like a sigh of cinematic ennui – they simply do not make them like this anymore. Every scene is embellished with sumptuous aesthetics and textures demonstrating Kümel's impeccable visual eye and art direction from the painfully stylish Françoise Hardy, with colours that leap from the screen with a vibrant fervour – red, especially, as the representative hue of danger and sexuality imbued in lipstick, gowns, nails, and, of course, blood.

As stunning as any of the set dressing is, of course, Seyrig, who commands every single second of her screentime with inimitable irresistibility, carrying herself with a bewitching sense of sinister seduction that blends both the hypnotic and the erotic even with the smallest fluid motions. As the emotionally castrated Stefan, Karlen provides a performance of infuriating realism, adding depth and weight to the film's themes of female empowerment and freedom from the shackles of patriarchy that have (mostly) aged refreshingly well, albeit with depressing relevance. Heavy too are the post-war themes of dominance and control, represented by Ouimet, whose performance as Valerie, a woman completely owned, is just the right amount of annoyingly naive to elicit sympathy.

A dreamy, politically charged spectacle of beauty and bloodshed, the new restoration of Daughters of Darkness is a must-see for newcomers to the film and fans alike.

The 4k restoration of Daughters Of Darkness had its UK premiere at FrightFest 2025 on 23 August