Daughters of Darkness: Limited Edition – Radiance Films (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Belgium/France/West Germany, 1971
Director: Harry Kümel
Writers: Pierre Drouot, Harry Kümel, Jean Ferry, Manfred R. Köhler
Cast: Delphine Seyrig, John Karlen, Danielle Ouimet, Andrea Rau, Paul Esser, Georges Jamin, Joris Collet, Fons Rademakers

Release Date: October 27th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 100 minutes 7 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono French
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £24.99 (UK)

"Newlyweds Stefan and Valerie are travelling through Europe when they make a detour to a deserted seaside hotel. Their romantic idyll soon takes a dark turn when they meet the enigmatic countess Báthory (Delphine Seyrig, Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles) and her mysterious companion Ilona, whose unsettling charm and aristocratic poise mask a deadly intent." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD, Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Daughters of Darkness was restored in 4K by Blue Underground from the original negative. The film was supplied to Radiance Films as a digital file and is presented in the original aspect ratio."

Daughters of Darkness comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 60.9 GB

Feature: 60.7 GB

Being that this release uses Blue Underground’s source, it looks very similar to their 2020 4K UHD release. That said, I would give a slight edge to Radiance Films, which has a stronger encode. Flesh tones look correct, colors look vibrant, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Daughters of Darkness comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.2 GB

Feature: 27 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5 (Both Audio Tracks)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English and a DTS-HD mono mix in French. Both audio tracks are in excellent shape; dialogue comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds and the score are well represented. The main difference between these two audio tracks is that the English language track sounds slightly fuller than the French language track. Included are removable English SDH for the English language track and removable English subtitles for the French language track.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio commentary with authors Virginie Sélavy and Lindsay Hallam.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include on-set footage shot for Belgium TV: Shooting a Stunt (3 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles) and Shooting a Scene  (10 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), an archival interview for French TV with Delphine Seyrig in which the actress discusses her career (26 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an interview with critic and author Kim Newman (27 minutes 49 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a video essay by Kat Ellinger, author of the monograph on the film, titled Immoral Tales: Daughters of Darkness, Class, Cruelty, and the Cinematic Legacy of Bathory (24 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with director Harry Kümel and film critic Anne Billson (30 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English and French with removable English subtitles), two short films directed by Harry Kümel: Anna the Maid (4 minutes 58 seconds, 1.37:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles) and Aether (7 minutes 26 seconds, 1.37:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono, text in Dutch with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Virginie Sélavy and Lindsay Hallam.

Anna the Maid: A short film based on a Jean Cocteau poem about a murderous maid.

Aether: A short film about the surreal visions of a man following an accident.

Other extras include reversible cover art, removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates, and an 80-page perfect-bound book with cast & crew information, an essay titled Defiant Muses: Feminism, Delphine Seyrig, and Daughters of Darkness written by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, an essay titled Iconic Film Stars as the Undead written by Martyn Conterio, an essay titled Fade to Red: Facades of Fetishism in Daughters of Darkness written by Joseph Dwyer, an essay titled Daughters of Darkness: La Petite Mort written by Suzanne Boleyn, an essay titled From Dracula to Báthory: The Cloak as Symbol and Sign in Vampire Cinema written by Mairéad Roche, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

A countess befriends a newlywed couple honeymooning at a seaside resort.

Although vampires have long been a staple of cinema since its early days, outside of a few exceptions like Vampyr and Blood and Roses, most vampire films are populated by male vampires. Then, starting in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, there was an influx of female vampire films. Vampyros Lesbos, The Blood Spattered Bride, Jean Rollin’s The Rape of the Vampire, The Nude Vampire, The Shiver of the Vampires, Requiem for a Vampire, and Daughter of Darkness are notable films from this era.

Content-wise, Daughters of Darkness draws inspiration from Elizabeth Báthory, a countess infamous for torturing and murdering hundreds of young girls and allegedly bathing in their blood. The film ultimately transcends its source material, resulting in one of cinema's most unique vampire narratives.

The look of the film is important when discussing Daughters of Darkness. Every inch of every frame is exquisitely composed for maximum effect. Another area where the visuals excel is their use of color, specifically red and blue. François de Roubaix’s hypnotic score enhances the film's atmosphere. Daughters of Darkness was among my first introductions to European cult cinema, and with each revisit, my appreciation for this extraordinary film deepens.

When it comes to the performances, the entire cast are excellent, especially Delphine Seyrig’s (Last Year at Marienbad) ethereal portrayal of Countess Bathory. She delivers a mesmerizing performance that dominates the screen and elevates everyone around her. Another performance of note is Andrea Rau (It's nothing, Mama, just a game) in the role of Countess Bathory’s faithful servant, Ilona.

While Harry Kümel approached Daughters of Darkness with the intention of creating a commercial film infused with exploitation elements, it becomes clear throughout that this film transcends being merely a work-for-hire. The well-constructed narrative takes familiar things and makes them its own, and it does a phenomenal job building momentum to an exemplary finale. Another strength of Daughters of Darkness is how it strays away from most vampire cinema’s staples. Ultimately, Daughters of Darkness is an extraordinary film in which everything perfectly falls into place.

Daughters of Darkness gets an exceptional release from Radiance Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras. Highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer