The Movie
From Hammer Films to Jess Franco and beyond, ya just gotta love the European approach to horror films, "the little differences" as John Travolta said (of life in Amsterdam) in Pulp Fiction. From the high style to the lovely ladies to the lack of Hollywood hyper-slickness, they represent a refreshing change from the everyday.
Daughters of Darkness is such a movie, a mildly erotic tale involving three beautiful, exotic women and one fairly pretty man at an otherwise deserted off-season beach hotel. A mysterious countess, attended by a conflicted young companion, befriends a couple on their honeymoon. But is the series of grisly murders in nearby Bruges that preceded her arrival merely coincidence? And what are her true plans for the young lovers?
There's something fishy going on that no one will come out and say, a suspense only heightened by the deliberately slow pacing. And the great revelation late in the story is not what we've come to expect, good news for those weary of flashing fangs.
The Picture
The 5:3 image, complete with thin vertical black bars on the sides, exhibits a combination of film grain and video noise, albeit never too dire. The widely varied bitrate ranges from single digits in some scenes to as high as 40 megabits-per-second in others, but this attentive authoring does not necessarily yield impressive results. I noted flicker in fine details and slight edge enhancement, while some shots can be incongruously soft, or briefly damaged. The colors hold up well in the many low-lit scenes, while blacks remain realistic.
The Sound
The soundtrack has been remastered but not remixed, presented here in DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0, our choice of English or French although it defaults to the former. The quality of the sound is pleasing overall, with dialogue that is always clear despite the accents on display, but ultimately unspectacular. We can hear the beginnings of distortion in the high end at times, and there is no real bass presence, but the movie is so low-key, it really isn't missed.
The Extras
All of the content here appears to have been ported from Blue Underground's excellent 2006 2-Disc Special Edition DVD, minus the DVD's still gallery. We have a pair of audio commentaries, the first by director/co-writer Harry Kümel, the other by star John Karlen joined by journalist David DelValle. Kümel returns with co-writer/co-producer Pierre Drouot for interviews and a discussion of the two hotel locations used for the film.
Separate on-camera interviews are also supplied for the two surviving co-stars, Danielle Ouimet and Andrea Rau, 14 and eight minutes, respectively. Most surprising is the inclusion of the entire 101-minute movie from the same era, The Blood Spattered Bride, about another ill-fated honeymoon couple. This is a very unusual but quite welcome type of bonus, and all on the same disc!
All of these video extras are in standard definition.
Final Thoughts
An unhurried but engaging tale of terror, Daughters of Darkness makes a step up to HD, if not a leap. The bonus of a companion feature on the very same platter is a serious carrot (perhaps the start of a trend?), so the only question is, rent or buy?
Product Details
Where to Buy:
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