La hija de las tinieblas

A disappointing addition to the vampire film which definitely lacks bite when dealing with its subject - now, this may not be surprising considering the TV-movie format, but it is a bit of a surprise when the director is none other than Stuart Gordon, the gentleman renowned for his two on-the-edge additions to 1980s horror cinema, RE-ANIMATOR and FROM BEYOND. Gordon here displays little of the vitality or skill he brought to his most famous movies and instead acts like more of a journeyman director, happy to pick up his paycheque with minimal effort. Not that the film is entirely bad - sure, the Romanian setting is nice and there are some arty tracking shots and good cinematography to give the movie a Euro feel. But the script is mundane and the story, which starts off so well, soon falls by the wayside.

The first hour of the film consists of the plot set-up, with nothing being explained too fully. Thus, we have a sense of mystery and a fairly close realism building up a little tension here and there. Unfortunately once the major plot twist is revealed and the vampires come to light (as it were), the film falls to pieces and becomes yet another clichéd bad guys vs. good guys fight to the finish, displaying little in the way of logic or surprises. The effects are minimal and the vampires largely lacking in interest, a typically boring group of Gothic types. The only difference is that they suck blood through their tongues rather than with fangs, although why exactly the lore was rewritten is unexplained as it isn't used for anything other than novelty value. The violence is mostly offscreen and the only thing to recommend in the film are some fairly good makeups used for the finale.

Acting wise, there are no great surprises here and nothing to make you sit up in your seat. Mia Sara (LEGEND) portrays yet another young, fragile heroine in a matter-of-fact way and her acting is neither particularly good or particularly bad, just so-so. It is good to see Anthony Perkins (EDGE OF SANITY) employing another of his sinister characters - complete with black eyeliner - but he seems mostly wasted in an ambivalent part. Robert Reynolds is forgettable and uninteresting as the evil vampire villain, although Dezso Garas is surprisingly good as the kind-hearted taxi driver with a dark secret. DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS is only worth watching if it's a quiet night and you're looking for some easy viewing before you go to bed.

Stuart Gordon was a busy man back in 1990. Aside from his surprisingly good retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Pit and the Pendulum' and something called Robojox, he also made this little known TV movie, which like the Poe film; is surprisingly good! Given that the film was made for television, it's not surprising that it doesn't feature the blood and gore of Re-Animator, and overall it feels like a cheaper, more rushed production. These things don't matter, however, as Gordon makes good use of what he has here, and rather than bombard the audience with special effects, he sticks to the more difficult method of storytelling to keep the film alive; and while this story takes obvious influence from a range of earlier films, Gordon's vampire flick is an involving and entertaining little flick for the duration of it's running time. The plot follows a young woman who travels to Romania in order to find her father. It's not long before she realises that he was killed, but the story doesn't end there as new evidence turns up that links her father to a mysterious cult of vampires...

Stuart Gordon is undoubtedly one of the greatest horror directors of modern times, and one of the reasons for that is that he isn't willing to stick to conventions. Gordon is happy to take filming outside of the USA and risk making a film with a largely foreign cast and, just like it would in the later 'Castle Freak' and 'Dagon' - the alien European setting does the film no end of favours where mystery is concerned. The lead role is taken by Mia Sara, who manages to do three things with it. Her acting isn't bad at all, and she's rather nice to look at too; but perhaps the best thing about her role in this film is that her looks and persona perfectly suit the style and tone of the movie. Norman Bates himself, Anthony Perkins (complete with silly accent), gives a memorable central performance also, and the pair are backed up nicely by Robert Reynolds and Jack Coleman. The plot plays out nicely, and Gordon keeps things very much on the level. There isn't a great deal of 'bite' in the script, but it really doesn't need it as this film is all about mystery. There's a lot of very good ideas in this movie, and it's fair to say that the sum of the parts falls a little short of what could have been; but I really enjoyed Daughter of Darkness and give it warm recommendations.

Katherine Thatcher (Mia Sara) travels to Romania in search of her father. During her quest, Katherine is haunted by nightmares of a hooded, faceless man. Adding to her problems is the fact that she has arrived in Romania during the reign of Ceausescu, meaning that the country is a police state.

Katherine meets Anton (Anthony Perkins), who appears to have known her father. Running afoul of the government, Katherine attracts the attention of the secret police. At every turn, she finds her search thwarted by forces both earthly and otherwise.

Director Stuart Gordon has created a devilish supernatural thriller, complete with vampirism and other ghoulish goings-on. Ms. Sara is convincing in her harried role, and Perkins is as oddly twitchy as ever.

Though it suffers from a few dead spots and a bit of meandering, there's enough chilly atmosphere to make up for it...

Cathy Stevens has been suffering dark dreams, and believes they have something do with her father. After the death of her mother she travels to political-torn Romania to find her father. However her investigating gets the local police questioning her motives and gaining the interest of a mysterious cult that might be able to share her information about he father.

Director Stuart Gordon brings it home again. If there's a consistent director in the horror genre, Gordon's right up there. Even with the boundaries of a low-budget TV enterprise. Gordon's 'Daughter of Darkness' is an interestingly slow grinding story-driven outing that evokes sensual titillation, dreamy flickering and makes excellent use of the decoratively alienating European locations. The film authentically looks the part and is perfectly shot too. Action is limited and sees little daylight, so does any real sort of make-up FX and special effects. When the latter comes into play, there's quite an inventive inclusion to how these vampires feed on their victims. Nice touch. On the down side the story feels minor, and the developments are traditionally dry and foreseeable. However even if this the case, it's broodingly melancholy styling of such superstitious folklore manages to hold you there and lead actress Mia Sara's sensitive performance helps shape that moody allurement. Alongside her is a modest Anthony Perkins. Even with that wobbly accent, he injects some glassy intensity. Jack Coleman, Robert Reynolds and a scene-stealing Dezso Garas offered good support. Pacing can hit a few bumps, but Gordon's infectious imagery (some piercingly eerie dream scenes) and positional work is efficiently implemented. Colin Towns' music score was nothing you would expect, as I found it to be majestically layered.

Ah, TV movies. There are some surprisingly great ones in the world amid many lackluster brethren, but either way they earned a definite reputation over time thanks to a long, predominant history of mixed bags, to say nothing of regular fare from the likes of the Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy) and Lifetime. The production values in 'Daughter of darkness' show its roots and its age, and the film also comes off as astoundingly direct, even more than we usually expect of television features. This isn't to say it can't be worthwhile, but the company it keeps is as notable as its primary stars. Recognizing no small measure of ham-handedness accompanying the straightforward slant, I'm still think this is pretty fun - only, perhaps less than essential.

It needs to be said that plot development is almost painfully swift, and constructed with a logic that is pure Movie Magic. Every Romanian that protagonist Katherine meets happens to speak English; the U. S. ambassador is unbelievably accessible; every person Katherine speaks to, even random passers-by, are bewilderingly willing to listen and help. Some of this has meaningful (and predictable) basis in the narrative, and none of it is out of the ordinary for the medium, yet the incidence is never not striking. Given the nature of 'Daughter of darkness' as suggested, the cast have certain limits on what they're able to accomplish, not least as enthusiastic editing joins with the forthright angle of the TV-approved writing and direction to maintain a brisk pace and chop scenes up into relatively minute snippets. Alongside that momentum, the movie oscillates all too quickly between tones as the plot progresses. And to that point, while the flavor of filmmaker Stuart Gordon and his collaborators is seen in the swell effects, dream sequences, the most gnarly character designs, and other active genre elements, it's safe to say this is a far cry from the likes of 'Re-animator' and 'From beyond,' and one wonders how Gordon became involved with the production.

There are plentiful reasonable hang-ups one should have about this picture, to be sure - including the fact that to achieve their goals, all the antagonists would have had to do was bide their time and play nice, and a major aspect of the protagonist's character doesn't come into play until the climax. Just because it's flawed doesn't mean it's not entertaining, though, or (modestly) deserving. While overly curt, and overcooked, on paper the narrative is engaging, and compelling; would that it had more opportunity to manifest, breathe, and resolve of its own accord. The ensemble make the most of what they have to work with: Mia Sara is a fine leading lady, for example, and Dezso Garas is an unlikely highlight as he realizes cab driver Max with delightful personality. Just as Hungary is a fine stand-in for Romania with choice filming locations, the production design and art direction are commendable. The costume design is maybe a little curious, but excellent on the face of it, as well as hair and makeup work. Even though I disagree with some of the choices made, or think they don't come off entirely well, at large 'Daughter of darkness' is well made from a technical standpoint.

This isn't outright bad, not by any means. It is, however, defined by those same problems that we see as common to made-for-TV movies. Plain-faced, gauche, and rushed, 'Daughter of darkness' sometimes rides a line of testing suspension of disbelief just on account of those faults. Even so, it wants only to tell a tale of supernatural horror, and is solid enough as it does so. More mindful care outside the restrictions of small screen production would have gone a long way to change the end result of what this represents, but it's nevertheless enjoyable in its own right. This 1990 feature may not be especially remarkable, and there's no need to go out of your way for it - but if you happen to come across 'Daughter of darkness,' it's not a bad way to spend 90 minutes.