Podcasts
[Horror Queers Podcast] Unpacking “Classy” Lesbian Vampires in ‘Daughters Of Darkness’
Delphine Seyrig Stans
The last few weeks on the Horror Queers Podcast have resulted in plenty of racy discussion and hilarious shenanigans. We’ve defended the underrated 1999 supernatural sequel The Rage: Carrie 2, we deflowered special guest Brennan Klein with Cherry Falls and then dined on a fantastic man stew with 1999’s under appreciated Ravenous.
In the latest episode, we’re traveling back in time for our oldest film yet: Harry Kümel’s 1971 lesbian vampire flick, Daughters of Darkness. With the help of Ale Gonzalez, we unpack the tale of refined lesbian vampire Countess Bathory, her consort Ilona and their attempts to seduce a newlywed couple that ends in death, tragedy and rebirth in a Belgium beach town. It’s a gorgeously immersive film that doesn’t feel exploitative or sensational, and Delphine Seyrig’s turn as the Countess is truly a performance for the ages.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, Libsyn, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, SoundCloud and RSS.
Episode 13 – Daughters of Darkness (1971)
Joe and Trace catch a train to France to spend time in a deserted hotel and drink milky blue liquor, picking up special guest Ale Gonzalez en route. The threesome can’t help but gush over Delphine Seyrig’s iconic performance as the Countess while gently mocking Blond Cher…er…Valerie (so bland!) and emasculated sissy Stefan.
Ale shares her encyclopedic knowledge about lesbian vampire films, Joe attempts to clarify the end of the film and Trace triumphs in his recognition of Stefan’s queer connection.
Plus: this week’s game includes THE BEST stunt casting for the remake (that will never be made)!
Cross out Daughters of Darkness!
Coming up Wednesday: we’re headed to an exclusive summer camp for young theatre performers to celebrate the 5th year anniversary of 2014’s Stage Fright. Spoilers: Trace gets mean.
– Joe & Trace
P.S. Be sure to check out all of our online articles, including the most recent on Black Swan, right here.
P.S.S. As an added bonus, if you subscribe to our Patreon you can listen to our in-depth discussion of the remake of The Last House On The Left (2009) and our reactions to Jordan Peele’s Us!
Maybe you haven’t thought about your good friend Sweeney Todd in a while, or maybe you have. The 2007 movie is a bit of a memory, though a fond one – it has a healthy 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, for what it’s worth. But 2023’s Broadway revival starring Josh Groban, who your mom thinks is “so talented” (she’s right!), was enough of a hit that its run was extended.
It appears we’re in a bit of a Sweeneyssaince.
For the uninitiated, Sweeney Todd is the story of a barber who kills his customers and disposes of the bodies by passing them off to pie shop owner Mrs. Lovett, who uses them as a special ingredient. But there’s more below the trap door.
Sweeney Todd isn’t just a late 70s musical that turned into a movie; it started as a penny dreadful called The String of Pearls: A Domestic Romance (author unknown), told week-to-week in the 1840s. Penny dreadfuls were essentially fiction zines featuring serialized stories that were usually horror-based and cost a penny, leading to the very literal nickname.
The String of Pearls differs from the more well-known Sweeney Todd plot in that it follows the investigation of a missing persons case that leads to the reveal of Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett’s arrangement, as opposed to the more modern iteration which treats audiences to the duo hatching their homicidal plan and then giving the worst haircuts ever. What a delightfully wild reveal that must have been if you were a reader in Victorian London after weeks of wondering what had become of the missing sailor carrying a string of pearls to deliver to a lovely girl.
Kristen and Will discuss the history and future of Sweeney Todd and works inspired by it this week on Guide to the Unknown. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to get a new episode every Friday.
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