As Filhas do Fogo (1978) User Reviews

Can you hear them calling you?

[andrabem-1 · 8/10 · 7 December 2011]

Ana (Rosina Malbouisson) goes to visit her friend Diana (Paola Morra), that is in her farm near Gramado, south of Brazil. Diana's mother died mysteriously a long time ago and her father is always travelling. Mariana (Maria Rosa), a young maid who works in the farm, takes care of Diana.

The farm is big – spacious green grass clearings delimited by big pine trees. There's a fence encircling everything, and outside, the forest, and deep inside it, a small peaceful river. There's something strange in the area – sometimes a very thin layer of fog is in the air, and one may get the feeling of something watching, maybe lurking.

The girls walk around the farm, Diana (Paola Morra) showing everything to Ana (Rosina Malbouisson) and they will meet on their way a strange woman (whom Diana had known as a child), Dagmar (Karin Rodrigues). Dagmar will be the linking bridge between the girls and the world beyond life. Diana and Ana will start , without knowing it, a dangerous journey to a world no longer in existence. The only links to reality seem to be Mariana, the maid, that likes Diana and is worried about her, and a mysterious drifter (Serafim Gonzalez) – no one knows where he's come from, his name and what he's doing there. Maybe he's a guardian. Who knows?

There's an invisible web being woven around Diana and Ana. Will they notice it before it's too late?

"As Filhas do Fogo" (The Daughters of Fire) could be labeled as a horror film, but only people that still have some imagination left may enjoy the film. The horror is in the atmosphere - there are the two girls and there's the approaching darkness...

"As Filhas do Fogo" is an interesting film, rich in images and sounds, with an interesting story. It was the second (and last) horror film made by Walter Hugo Khouri, and it could be better classified as an 'existentialist horror".

Subtle and surprisingly moody ghost story from Brazil.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 6/10 · 10 November 2014]

Woman living in São Paulo goes to Gramado,South of Brazil to visit a friend of hers.Together they meet an odd woman who engages in strange experiences in parapsychology.From then on bizarre events are bound to happen.I kind of enjoyed "As Filhas do Fogo" by Walter Hugo Khouri.This slow-paced and ethereal thriller has some surprising plot twists and memorable scenes.Still it's not as good as Jose Ramon Larraz similarly themed "Symptoms".There is a bit of lesbian nudity and some moody scenes,but the action is very slow.The film lacks gore and violence too.It's very subtle,so anyone expecting wild and transgressive Brazilian horror in the vein of "Coffin Joe" flicks will be disappointed.6 ghostly manifestations out of 10.

Between this world and the next

[matheusmarchetti · 10/10 · 4 September 2011]

I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit, though I come from Brazil, I am not very familiar with my country's cinema, let alone horror films. But if "As Filhas do Fogo" (which translates into "Daughters of Fire") is any indication of the hidden gems that await me, then they get MUCH less credit and admiration they deserve. In fact, this film has not even been released in VHS around here (though ironically, there are rumors it was released as such in the US), and I only came to watch it via a torrent of a television broadcast of it in poor shape. It's a pity really, because not only I found it way better than what I've seen from Coffin Joe, but it's one of the most haunting, ethereal, and downright frightening ghost stories ever made IMO. Akin to José Ramon Larraz's "Symptoms", another forgotten macabre masterpiece, "As Filhas do Fogo" is the story of a lesbian couple staying at a secluded house in the countryside. They become acquainted with a mysterious family friend who claims to record the voices of the dead. Soon enough, these three characters find themselves haunted by the ghost of one of the girls' mother, and the line between this world and the next becomes more and more blurry, escalating to a totally nightmarish finale that echoes Mario Bava's "Kill Baby Kill". Director Walter Hugo Khouri was no stranger to the genre (his 1973's "O Anjo da Noite", though I'm yet to see, is one of the country's most important horror films, and apparently, a strong predecessor to "When A Stranger Calls" and "Black Christmas"), and the atmosphere he creates has rarely been rivaled. Whenever the mother's ghost appears on screen, the mood is often melancholy and sad, with use of some Mozart pieces adding to the gloominess of it all. Much of the horror, however, comes from the dialogue (one scene where the medium describes the afterlife as a place of sorrow and bitterness is a disturbing highlight) and nature imagery, with eerie use of it's locations: the vast, deserted countryside with bleeding trees, howling winds, dark ponds and colorful vegetation. Khouri takes a "Picnic at Hanging Rock" approach by having most of the characters being descendants of European emigrants, and therefore strangers in their own land. Their surroundings seem to stare at them, beckoning, controlling their every move. It is only the governess - a native of the region - who does not succumb to it's mystical powers. There's also a bit of folklore added to good measure near the ending, when the girls stumble across a mysterious celebration lead by a masked stranger. It is possibly the scene most people remember from the film, and a remarkably creepy moment. The performances are excellent all around. Paola Morra and Rosina Malbouisson are great as the couple vulnerable to events that they simply cannot explaim. It is, however, the supporting actors that give the most impressive, scene-stealing roles, particularly Selma Egrei as the mother, who never utters a word and mostly just stands staring, but whose strange, bewitching looks and screen presence dominates every scene she's in. It's simply impossible not to get chills down your spine whenever she's on screen. Overall, this is a magnificent creepy gem I'm glad to have rediscovered, and truly hope more people will seek out and appreciate. If you're a fan of subtle, scary horrors like "The Haunting", "Let's Scare Jessica to Death" or "Don't Look Now", this is the film for you! 10/10