hwg1957-102-265704 Put together from different sources of footage this actually hangs together quite well. An artist haunted by a woman one of his ancestors killed continues to murder young women and paint pictures of their corpses. It's only sixty two minutes long so it tells its story without any fuss and some of it looks excellent. Dark shadows, dark empty streets and gloomy beach scenes. There is a bleak atmosphere most of the time that is quite effective and some of it is quite creepy. The last scenes are very well done.What does let it down is the acting. William Campbell as Antonio Sordi tries to do a tortured artist but is stiff and unconvincing. The rest of the cast are not much better though I did find the group of beatniks in the cafe talking about 'quantum' art amusing. Lori Saunders runs around in several bikinis distractingly.It is worth seeing for the cinematography and some good macabre touches.

Mr_Ectoplasma "Blood Bath" follows (or at least seems to follow) a deranged artist who believes he is (or may in fact actually be) the reincarnation of a legendary vampire. For inspiration, he kidnaps women and boils them in wax before painting the subjects. Dorian, an experimental ballerina, crosses paths with him, and gets dangerously close while trying to uncover the truth.Maybe one of the biggest oddball horror films in the annals of history, "Blood Bath" is not adequately described by the synopsis I provided, and anyone trying to tie the loose threads up will find it extremely difficult (if not impossible). This is because, as many have noted, the film is actually a composite of several different films. Producer Roger Corman purchased the footage from "Operation: Titian," a European espionage film that he had co-produced but deemed too terrible to release, and brought the film to the United States, where Jack Hill (and later, Stephanie Rothman) constructed an entirely different narrative based on the footage they had to work with. To fill in the blanks, they shot additional scenes in an attempt to piece together a "whole" movie.The result is not quite so "whole," but it certainly is fascinating, and one of the few instances—and perhaps only instance in the horror genre—where a film came to fruition in such a way. At times, "Blood Bath" feels like a campy beatnik take on vampires, and at others it edges into complete surrealism rivaling "Carnival of Souls" or Roman Polanski's early short films. Gorgeous footage of European castles and cityscapes populate the film (Hill shot his portions in Venice, Los Angeles in order to carry on the European aesthetic of the "Operation: Titian" footage), as well as several stunning, surreal scenes shot on an empty California beach. A haunting musical score and a strange, lush atmosphere elevate the film profoundly—it almost (inadvertently?) becomes an art film. The narrative itself is so convoluted (and understandably so) that it's difficult to see where it's going or why, but taking the film for what it is is the best bet for any audience. Running at just over an hour flat, I think the film can be easily digested if taken on its own terms.Several other versions of the film aside from the "Blood Bath" or "Operation: Titian" incarnation exist (all of which have been lovingly restored and released by Arrow Video this year), which further adds to the complex history; and while that history is the undoubtedly the main allure of the film, this is a weirdly beautiful, well-shot, and haunting piece of celluloid to be devoured. Overall, I found "Blood Bath" absolutely transfixing. Ultimately, the jagged narrative is secondary here to the lush and haunting cinematography, and it somehow manages to play out as a sort of patchwork art-house movie. Its production history is certainly a central draw for the simple reason that so many hands were on it at different times. The disaster that was this film's production is impossible to keep out of the back of one's mind while watching it, but I also think it's worth paying attention to the unique and weirdly eerie (and yes, incoherent) film that that tattered production ended up producing. If nothing else, the film is a beautiful anomaly. Side note: watch out for a supporting role from a very young Sid Haig. 8/10.

MartinHafer This film seems like it has the scripts of several movies all shoved together--and although there are some eerie moments, the overall effort is rather poor. William Campbell (the actor who starred in the classic "Star Trek" episode "The Squire of Gothos") plays a bizarre artist. He specializes in paintings of women being murdered and people love them. However, you learn to make these paintings he actually kills people. Sounds familiar? It is if you've seen an earlier American-International film called "Bucket of Blood"--it's pretty much the same script. However, on top of this decent story, there are several other story elements--ones that make the film confusing and silly. You see, Campbell is actually VERY old and retains his youth through these killings--and vampire fangs appear when he kills. But, you never see him drinking blood nor is it even implied--and he walks around a lot during the daytime. What gives?! None of this makes a lot of sense. Even with a creepy ending, the film just never pays off and is silly and forgettable.

Elliot-10 This film (which I saw years ago) seems to be two (or maybe more) different movies edited together-- a contemporary psychological horror film with "flashbacks" to a character's ancestor who was a witch. The "flashbacks" are, I suspect, part of another film entirely-- perhaps a Mexican horror film. Whatever budget reasons led to this unconventional method of film-making, the result can best be described as unintentional surrealism. A unique experience, to say the least.