Review of "Daughters of Darkness" by The Headless Critic

The man so popular his newest special crashed Shudder.com. Actor, writer, critic, film historian, proud Texan and everyone’s favorite drive-in theater host Joe Bob Briggs returns for The Last Drive-In. Thirteen days ago his supposed one night only, live comeback has him hosting thirteen of the best drive-in worthy features on Shudder in a 24 hour plus long movie marathon. This is it folks. What very well may be the last television horror movie host puts on his bolo tie one last time. Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theater first started showing films on premium pay channels in the 1990’s transitioning into Monstervision on cable tv by the end of the decade. The man who ruled the 90’s in horror hosting dons his cowboy hat for a visit to The Last Drive-In Theater.

Daughters of Darkness – 1971



A newlywed couple arrive at their honeymoon hotel in a town where virgin bodies drained of their blood keep being found. Arriving to their hotel soon behind them is the Countess Bathory (Delphine Syerig) and her lesbian lover and secretary Ilona (Andrea Rau). The Countess is the only suspect of detectives in the mysterious murders and she has her sights set on seducing Stefan (John Karlen) and his new bride Valarie (Danielle Ouimet) as her next victims. She wants them for her bed, she wants them for her body, she wants them for her dinner tonight. Check in to her hotel of seduction and let her lure you in with her lustful ways. It’s a seduction of the mind, the body and the very soul that’s at stake.

Highly erotic as most vampire tales are, the Countess, her lesbian lover and their newest victim to be, each bring a level of eroticism completely different from one another. Valarie is in love, the best that she understands it anyhow. Ready to start her new life with her new husband with widespread eyes absorbing everything anew. Ilona is the dangerous innocence. A lure of every woman to bring a man in with their innocence only to be discovered they’re far more devilish than they are first led to believe. Countess Bathory is the dominatrix who likes to control both mind and body punishing to the point of death.

“That’s why he dreams of making out of you what every man dreams of making of every woman, a slave, a thing, an object for pleasure.” These Daughter of Darkness are everything I dislike about most movies of this era. Over acted, over sexualized, and made for imagery, not story. It’s a niche genre piece that some people absolutely love. There is a lure in the eroticism of this fil but my love is lost in unrealism.

2 out of 5 Headless Critics (Joe Bob’s Rating: 4 Stars)