For this year’s 31 Nights of Horror Challenge, the Day 23 prompt is From the 70s. We watched the Daughters of Darkness on Amazon Prime.

Storyline

A chic, good-looking and suitably 70’s couple arrive at an extravagant and deserted seaside hotel after eloping. Stefan is wealthy and happily English, with a hidden streak of sadism, while Valarie is intelligent but of inferior (Swedish) blood. To keep her with him at the eerie hotel he lies consistantly about his relationship with his mother and his plans to tell her of their marriage. Meanwhile he has mysterious phone conversations with an older, dominant and pampered sissy. Two fresh guests arrive; the Hungarian countess, Elizabeth Bathory and her voluptuous protege, Ilona. Virgin corpses begin showing up about the city drained of their blood. A wary detective lurks around the hotel taunting his only suspect, the Countess.

Our Thoughts on Daughters of Darkness (1971)

Better than expected.

A newlywed couple are staying in a hotel when a mysterious woman and her assistant arrive at the hotel. Then strange things start happening in the hotel and surrounds…

I was expecting some sort of 70s B-grade schlock-horror fest. However, this is better than that and had the potential to be great. For the first 60% or so of the movie, plot and its development are solid, interesting and engaging. There is a degree of character depth too.

However, much of this is negated by the final few scenes. After keeping the plot development tight and interesting, the director relaxes control and things get random, silly and a touch pretentious.

A pity, as the movie was shaping up for an intriguing ending.

5 out of 10

Trivia