Themes: Dangerous Attraction, Sexual Awakening, Woman In Jeopardy
Main Cast: Delphine Seyrig, Daniele Ouimet, John Karlen, Andrea Rau, Paul Esser
Release Year: 1971
Country: BE/WG/FR
Run Time: 87 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Le Rouge aux Levres is a stylish, fascinating, very erotic vampire film based on Sheridan le Fanu's Camilla, the classic tale of a lesbian vampire. A young married couple, Stefan (John Karlen) and Valerie (Daniele Ouimet), honeymoon at a deserted oceanside resort where they meet Countess Elisabeth Bathory (Delphine Seyrig) and her companion Ilona (Andrea Rau). Valerie has discovered that Stefan is a brutal sexual sadist and is drawn to the Countess because of her warmth and sensuality. Ilona attempts to seduce Stefan but is accidentally killed, and the Countess takes her revenge on his wife. Director Harry Kumel directs with stunning visual style and maintains the erotic intensity and tension between the characters with skill, getting a particularly good performance from the magnificent Delphine Seyrig, who resembles in both mood and looks the young Marlene Dietrich. Erotic, unusual and extremely violent, Le Rouge aux Levres, also released as Daughters of Darkness is one of the finest vampire films ever produced, making up with style and class what it might have lacked in budget. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
Review
The sexual dimension of vampire lore gets a full workout in this contemporary love quadrangle. Delphine Seyrig lends not only a touch of elegance to the proceedings but also the only serious acting chops among the four leads. She plays the Countess Elisabeth Bathory, a character based on a real Hungarian madwoman of the 17th century who believed she would stay forever young by bathing in the blood of her victims. There are no bloodbaths here; in fact, there is less biting and bloodletting than groping and caressing. The setting is not a creepy castle but an empty off-season hotel in Ostend, Belgium, where a young honeymooning couple (John Karlen and Daniele Ouimet) are stalked by the Countess and her "secretary" (Andrea Rau). Complicating the sexual geometry, in which the secretary is to seduce the groom as a distraction while the Countess moves in on the bride, is a dirty little secret that the husband is keeping from his wife. Director Harry Kümel doesn't rush the pace, which allows the viewer to enjoy the creepy atmosphere but also notice the unconvincing performances by Karlen and Ouimet, with Rau acceptable in the least demanding part. The director's cut is available on DVD, running 100 minutes. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
Fons Rademakers - Mother; Joris Collet - Butler; Georges Jamin - The Man; Danielle Oiumet
Credit
Françoise Hardy - Art Director, Pierre Drouot - Associate Producer, Alain C. Guilleaume - Associate Producer, Pierre Drouot - Co-producer, Bernard Perris - Costume Designer, Harry Kümel - Director, Gust Verschueren - Editor, Denis Bonan - Editor, François de Roubaix - Composer (Music Score), Eduard van der Enden - Cinematographer, Henry Lange - Producer, Alain C. Guilleaume - Producer, Paul Collet - Producer, Pierre Drouot - Screenwriter, Jean Ferry - Screenwriter, Harry Kümel - Screenwriter, J.J. Amiel - Screenwriter
Daughters of Darkness (in France, Les Lèvres Rouges, and in Belgium, Les Rouges aux Lèvres) is a 1971 German-Belgium horror film, (spoken in English), directed by Harry Kümel. It is a highly stylized erotic vampire film, based on Carmilla, the classical story of lesbian vampirism by Sheridan le Fanu.
Plot summary
A recently married young couple, Stefan (John Karlen) and Valerie (Daniele Ouimet), are spending their honeymoon at a grand hotel by the Belgian seashore. As it is off-season, the couple are alone in the hotel. Alone, that is, until one evening when a mysterious Hungarian countess, Elizabeth Báthory (Delphine Seyrig, superbly channelling Marlene Dietrich), arrives with her 'secretary' Ilona (Andrea Rau). The countess quickly becomes obsessed with the newlyweds, and the resulting interaction of the four people succumbs to sadism, abandonment and murder.
