Daughters of Darkness 4K (1971)

Harry Kumel's classic, highly regarded vampire tale set in gloomy Belgian locations is getting a 4K UHD and Blu-ray dual format limited edition release from Radiance Films.

Stefan (John Karlen) and Valerie (Danielle Ouimet) are on their honeymoon. Their next planned stop is to visit Stefan's mother at Chilton Manor in the UK, but on the way from Switzerland a problem with their train causes them to end up stuck in Ostend. It's the middle of winter and they find themselves the only guests at a lavish seafront hotel. Until, that is, the arrival of the Countess Bathory (Delphine Seyrig) and her 'ward' Ilona (Andrea Rau). 

The hotel clerk (Paul Esser) is convinced the Countess has stayed at the hotel before, but if that is the case she has not aged in forty years. Meanwhile, the newspapers report the killing of three young women in Bruges, their bodies drained of blood. Ilona tells the Countess she wishes to leave her service and the Countess herself has already set her sights on Valerie as a new companion, while Stefan has some secrets to reveal about both his mother and his sexual preferences. 

There's not a lot of blood in DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS (although when it is seen it packs quite the punch) but there is a lot of red, including the Countess' car, Stefan's leather jacket, and some of the articles of clothing that both the Countess and Ilona (sporting a very Jess Franco VAMPYROS LESBOS red scarf) wear. Kumel shoots the hotel in which all the action happens in the style of 'tell me you're in a Gothic castle without actually being in a Gothic castle', complete with storm. The film feels markedly different from other European vampire pictures of the period and, like the oeuvre of Jean Rollin, has its own unique feel, right down to a climax that tries to do something a little different. 

Radiance's 4K transfer is the best this film has ever looked, with night scenes clear, and colours, especially of Ms Seyrig's costumes, splendidly vivid. Extras on Radiance's disc include a commentary track from Virginie Sélavy and Lindsay Hallam. There's a new piece from Kim Newman, who provides a concise summary of vampire film cycles through the years (28 minutes), an excellent new interview with Kumel by Anne Billson which discusses amongst many other things the proposed sequels to the film (31 minutes) and Immoral Tales, a visual essay by Kat Ellinger who charts the history of both lesbian vampire movies and the depiction of Elisabeth Bathory in both fiction and film, digging up some obscurities so that everyone watching this will probably have some homework. Archival material includes a 1989 interview with Seyrig (27 minutes), on-set footage from 1970 (10 minutes) and a 1971 interview with Kumel as he shoots the final stunt (3 minutes). Also included are a couple of Kumel short subjects - Anna The Maid (1958) about a minad who fantasises about killing her employer (five minutes) and the surreal seven minute Aether (1960).

Finally, Radiance's limited edition set comes with an 80 page perfect bound book featuring new writing on the film. There's a slipcase to keep everything in that's complete with the usual Radiance packaging that allows you to have the disc free of BBFC certificates. Here's a trailer:

Harry Kumel's DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS is out from Radiance Films in a dual format UHD and Blu-ray limited edition of 5000 on Monday 27th October 2025