The enigma facing young Katherine Thatcher is the identity of her father. Unfortunately for her, she is drawn into a small sub-hallucinogenic Romanian underworld of brooding menace, darkness... Read allThe enigma facing young Katherine Thatcher is the identity of her father. Unfortunately for her, she is drawn into a small sub-hallucinogenic Romanian underworld of brooding menace, darkness, torture chambers, and vampires.The enigma facing young Katherine Thatcher is the identity of her father. Unfortunately for her, she is drawn into a small sub-hallucinogenic Romanian underworld of brooding menace, darkness, torture chambers, and vampires.
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It's been many years since I've seen this movie. I would love to watch it again. It's good for anyone who likes the Vampire lore. The acting is pretty good, and Mia Sara and Anthony Perkins are great! This movie shows another side to vampires.
I recently bought this film for my girlfriend who had fond memories of watching it as a teenager. Being a made for TV film it does have some rather low production values, and some of the scripting is a little wooden.
However, there is no denying that it has a certain atmosphere that you don't find in many films. Perhaps it had something to do with the location (the bulk of the film is set within Bucharest in Romania) or perhaps it is the combination of the set and the subject matter.
Whatever the cause, the dreamy, sinister atmosphere of the film does make it worth watching...so long as you don't expect too much from it.
If you like vampire films and haven't watched this yet then I can recommend it, a good film also for anyone wanting to catch a flavour of Eastern Europe and some of Romania's seedy little area's.
However, there is no denying that it has a certain atmosphere that you don't find in many films. Perhaps it had something to do with the location (the bulk of the film is set within Bucharest in Romania) or perhaps it is the combination of the set and the subject matter.
Whatever the cause, the dreamy, sinister atmosphere of the film does make it worth watching...so long as you don't expect too much from it.
If you like vampire films and haven't watched this yet then I can recommend it, a good film also for anyone wanting to catch a flavour of Eastern Europe and some of Romania's seedy little area's.
A common storyline: young adult searches for their father in the "Old Country", who is elusive and given to certain noctural habits. Pacing for this made for TV "light" horror film wasn't terrible. Often there was something passably interesting and relevant happening, even if the individual acting skills by support cast were often stilted...honestly, that wasn't unexpected of this US/Hungary production. Creature make-up and effects was light, it was for TV after all, and maybe 6 star is a bit of a stretch but I thought Mia Sara and Anthony Perkins were good enough, though Mia often gives her known wrinkled brow agonized terror look. It's a solid one-watch, and I'm glad I found it for a mid-week time-passer.
I vividly remember the harrowing news bulletins and devastating images of Romania during the late 80's/early 90's, when the controversial reign of Ceausescu slowly came to an end and the nation was consumed with relentless violence and economical recession. It was definitely not the best place to be around that time, especially not if you were a member of a foreign (and thus 'wealthier') film crew. All the time whilst watching "Daughter of Darkness" I was wondering how Stuart Gordon and his crew were able to film amidst the thoroughly dangerous political climate in Bucharest, until of course I realized and double checked the filming location section on IMDb the whole movie was shot in Hungary instead. This was probably the wisest, not to mention safest, thing to do and in all honesty Budapest looks and feels just as ominous as Bucharest. That needless bit of information being said, "Daughter of Darkness" is a fairly successful and worthwhile little made-for-TV chiller that offers an okay albeit predictable and cliché-ridden plot and a couple of admirable acting performances. Those who are familiar with director Stuart Gordon's awesome repertoire (and if you're not: move your butt towards the nearest video store and rent "Re-Animator", "From Beyond" and "Castle Freak"!!) will promptly notice this is a rather atypical effort coming from him. His usual work features Grand Guignol make up effects and utterly absurd situations whereas this modestly produced film maintains a serious, almost dramatic tone and very sober decors. Following the death of her mother, cherubic twenty-something Cathy Thatcher travels to Romania all by herself because the only thing she knows about her father is that he and her mother met in Bucharest. With little help from the American ambassador and only a creepy taxi driver to rely on, Cathy quickly gets entangled in a mysterious web hinting at vampirism and political murder. She meets a peculiar glassblower (Anthony "Norman Bates" Perkins) and falls in love with a local hunk, all the while completely unaware of how dangerously close she finds herself to the truth regarding of her family's bloodline. The plot is remotely involving, even though you're always several steps ahead of the script, and Mia Sara's natural charm & innocence make it pretty much impossible not to care for her. The actual vampires are stereotypical characters and behave as such, though with one notable exception, namely they suck the blood of their victims using fangs that only appear when their tongues split open. This is a bizarre little gimmick, and I have no idea where it origins from, but it's hardly special enough to make the film is must-see genre effort. Perkins tries his best, but he obviously struggles with the accent as wells as with the lack of motel rooms and shower kills. There's very little blood and spectacle to find here (TV-movie, remember?) but the atmosphere is moody and the old buildings look uncanny. Hardly priority viewing for horror fans, but worth a peek nonetheless.
One does not ask a lot of this kind of film, but this film failed to provide even a little for me...
The characters felt (to put it kindly) unreal even for a horror film! I never felt scared at all during the entire movie, and the choice of music made me want to sue for emotional suffering...
The characters felt (to put it kindly) unreal even for a horror film! I never felt scared at all during the entire movie, and the choice of music made me want to sue for emotional suffering...
Did you know
- TriviaAnthony Perkins was cast as a vampire for the first time in his career and was paid $200,000 for a four week shoot.
- ConnectionsReferences The Twilight Zone (1959)
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- Mörkrets dotter
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- Vajdahunyad Castle, Budapest, Hungary(Exterior)
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