In preparation for her role as the bisexual vampiress Countess Bathory in Harry Kümel’s erotic horror movie, Seyrig studied the films of Marlene Dietrich and Josef von Sternberg, finding inspiration in the German actress’ languid sensuality and brazen confidence. Daughters of Darkness is among the most sophisticated entries in the “lesbian vampire” genre that took the European B-movie industry by storm in the seventies, its pedigree elevated by Seyrig’s participation. Yet the film, about a young honeymooning couple bewitched by Bathory and her undead underling, was also significant in Seyrig’s efforts to break the mold: Bathory is not a loving goddess or object of desire, she is the desiring subject, her lust tantalizingly dangerous. Dressed in blood-red and sequined gowns, sumptuous furs and mesh veils, Bathory is, in Seyrig’s hands, a spellbinding puppetmaster as well as a major contributing factor to the film’s cult fame