Blood Bath (1966)

Plot-wise, Blood Bath (1966) comes on like a version of House of Wax (1953) where, instead of being a disfigured maniac behind a wax mask, the sculptor turns out to be a vampire instead.  With two credited directors - Jack Hill and Stephanie Rothman - and a running time of just over an hour, it is hardly surprising that Blood Bath is more than a little confusing.  Artist William Campbell, renowned for his bloody paintings of nude women, periodically turns into a vampire (with a different face) and murders young women.  Not only does he use his victims as models for his paintings, but he also covers their bodies in wax to create sculptures he keeps in his studio.  Throw in a sub-plot about one of his potential victims possibly being a reincarnation of his long dead lost love and a last minute intervention from beyond the grave and you have too much plot to satisfactorily fit into that short running time.  The film's origins are as confusing as its story line, having its origins in an unreleased spy thriller that Roger Corman was involved in producing in Yugoslavia.  

With additional footage shot in the US by Jack Hill, retaining original star William Campbell, the Yugoslavian footage was repurposed into a horror film titled Blood Bath.  Unhappy with the results, Corman brought in a second director, Rothman, to reshape the film with yet more additional shooting. Her main contribution to the plot seems to have been the addition of the vampirism sub-plot. This time, Campbell wasn't available, hence the fact that, when he transforms into the vampire, he is replaced by an uncredited actor under heavy make up.  This was the version eventually released, (although another version of the film, titled Track of the Vampire, was released to TV with seven minutes of extra footage to bring it to feature length).  Thanks to the stop-start nature of the production, various continuity errors are present, most notably the fact that Sid Haig's facial hair changes from scene to scene.  Adding to the general air of confusion, two of he actresses playing Campbell's victims look remarkably alike.

While the film might be something of a mess plot-wise, it has to be said that it looks remarkably good, with the US and Yugoslavian locations matching up surprisingly well.  Moreover, despite having two directors credited, the style of the production remains reasonably consistent with both Hill and Rothman managing to create some atmospheric scenes.  An oddity that, in truth, is barely a feature, (it originally went out as the bottom half of a double bill with Queen of Blood), Blood Bath is, nevertheless, an enjoyable enough watch that is too short to ever outstay its welcome.