“Love is stronger than death… even than life.”
Twenty-five years before Bram Stoker revolutionized the world of horror with his iconic novel Dracula, another sensual vampire was drifting into the moonlit bedchambers of society’s upper crust. First appearing in a 1971 edition of the literary magazine The Dark Blue, Carmilla, a.k.a. Mircalla, Countess Karnstein, preys upon unsuspecting young women in the crumbling castles of the Austrian countryside. Despite never gaining the ubiquity of Stoker’s dark antagonist, Sheridan Le Fanu’s gothic novella Carmilla is one of the world’s first examples of vampiric literature and helped to establish the archetype of the lesbian vampire. Belgian director Harry Kümel combines this foundational text with the true story of Hungarian serial killer Elizabeth Báthory to create another sinister seductress in his 1971 erotic horror film Daughters of Darkness.
Newlyweds Stefan (John Karlen) and Valerie (Danielle Ouimet) are still enjoying the glow of their whirlwind courtship when they take an impromptu honeymoon at a lavish, but essentially deserted resort in Ostend, Belgium. Making friends with the only other guests, Countess Elizabeth Báthory (Delphine Seyrig) and her submissive partner Ilona (Andrea Rau), Stefan and Valerie find themselves pursued by this glamorous woman who seems to have discovered the secret to eternal youth. The Lady Killers shine a light on this intoxicating female killer in a broad episode that plunges headfirst into the world of pain and sensuality; seduction and death.
Co-hosts Jenn Adams, Sammie Kuykendall, Mae Shults, and Rocco T. Thompson explore the world of erotic horror while reflecting on their own romantic pasts and discussing the truth behind Elizabeth Báthory’s astonishing body count. Would Valerie be better off with Elizabeth or is she just flying into the wings of another predator? Is Ilona a vampire and how does she fit into Elizabeth’s master plan? What’s Stefan’s relationship to Mother? Does he ever plan to bring his new bride home? Why is that constable all wet and why does no one in this town know how to bury a body? They’ll answer all these questions and more while gushing over Elizabeth’s flawless attire, yearning for Valeri’s sunkissed glow, disagreeing on Ilona’s page-boy haircut, and venting about the audacity of Stefan’s hideous bathrobe. Let the dead bury the dead and join the Lady Killers as they spread their wings and try to beat the dying night.
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The post ‘Daughters of Darkness’ Is Peak Erotic Horror [The Lady Killers Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.