“Emmy (Siobhan McKenna) is a beautiful but slightly demented young woman who works for the local priest. When the carnival comes to town, she encounters a rugged young boxer called Dan (Maxwell Reed), and after a pleasant evening spent in his company she slashes his face to ribbons with her fingernails. She wanted the goldfish. He expected sexual favours in return. Packed off by Father Corcoran (Liam Redmond) to Yorkshire, Emmy is taken in by a large farming family and manages to suppress the strange feelings of fascination and repulsion that she experiences in the presence of the opposite sex. Until, that is, the carnival comes to town and brings with it the spiteful Dan…
Costing a small fortune (in its day), and taking six months to make, Daughter of Darkness may fail to explain just why its leading lady freaks out every time a man comes within two feet of her, but the film is all the better for it. She doesn’t know, so why should we? It’s the did-she, didn’t-she scenario that keeps you intrigued, and along with McKenna’s creepily demonic performance, the more that’s left to our imagination the better. The real star of the show here though is a decorated war hero called Thorn. He’s also a dog in his spare time. The gentlemen folk may struggle to contain such a terrifying vixen, but why send a man to do the job of a vengeful dog anyway?” DW
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