This film has quite the convoluted history, which accounts for it being such a disjointed mess. Starting life as a Yugoslavian/USA co-production titled Operation Titian, partly funded by the legendary producer Roger Corman, the movie was edited down, re-titled Portrait in Terror and sold for US TV. Not finished with the film, Corman then hired legendary exploitation director Jack Hill to shoot new scenes and released the result as Blood Bath. Finally, director Stephanie Rothman was brought in to film even more scenes, the final incarnation of the movie being called Track of the Vampire. This is the cut that I saw, and its a completely baffling experience.William Campbell plays artist Toni Sordi, whose paintings depict women in the throes of death. In reality, Sordi is an ancient vampire who kills his models, dropping them into a vat of bubbling molten wax. After claiming the lives of several pretty young women (and a jealous husband, played by Patrick Magee), Sordi is pursued by a gang of beatniks (including Jack Hill regular Sid Haig), but ultimately falls prey to his wax encased victims, who come back to life and give him a taste of his own medicine (in a scene reminiscent of gory 1980 shocker Maniac, starring Joe Spinell).Featuring an amusing satire of the '60s art scene (dig that crazy quantum painting!), a lengthy interpretive dance routine on a deserted beach courtesy of ballerina Dorean (the lovely Lori Saunders, who also sports a range of skimpy bikinis throughout the film), a murder on a merry-go-round, another in a swimming pool, and lots of running around an old medieval town (which we are supposed to believe is in California, NOT Serbia), the film is definitely something of a curio but not much of a horror film.3.5 out of 10, rounded up to 4 for the groovy prismatic effect during the beach dance.

If you read what I write on a regular basis then you already know that I have a love for all things Arrow Video. It's one of those companies determined to resurrect movies from the past that are overlooked, forgotten or tossed aside by their home studios and then offer them in pristine condition with enough extras to entertain but not overshadow the movie in question. That being said their offering of BLOOD BATH is the most comprehensive and exhausting endeavor I've seen from them and I mean that in a good way.Before delving deeper into the set be aware you're getting 4 movies here made up of one movie. I'm not talking about sequels, extended editions or director's cuts. I'm talking 4 different movies…all from the same original movie. To understand you have to realize that when it was made there was a drive-in circuit that movies played in with films that catered to those clients, more often than not teens looking for cheap and easy action, horror and racy flicks. Director Roger Corman made his career on these types of films and began producing as well. He produced a film in Europe that was called OPERATION TITIAN, a film about stolen art with cops and robbers involved. He decided the movie wasn't quite what he wanted so had it recut and changed into the film PORTRAIT OF TERROR. Still not quite what he wanted he handed it over to director Jack Hill and it became BLOOD BATH. Stephanie Rothman had helped with that version but before selling it to TV it was recut again with new scenes added and became TRACK OF THE VAMPIRE (the version I was aware of from horror hosts screenings years ago). What Arrow has done is bring all four version together in one package which makes for fascinating viewing for film fans.OPERATION TITIAN is actually a well-made robbery film with some amazing shots reminiscent of the Carol Reed film THE THIRD MAN. The presentation here in black and white is amazing to see with a crisp, clear image that shows work was put into this presentation. PORTRAIT OF TERROR and BLOOD BATH offer the same footage in some places combined with a new story to offer a different tale, switching things from a robbery film to the story of an artist who thinks he's a vampire and boils his models in wax. Definitely different right? And yet both use some of the same footage. By the time you get to TRACK OF THE VAMPIRE a part of you wonders what in the world was going on. But the fact is that the movie made money in all four versions, a definite return on investment that many film makers would love to see.As I said the quality of the movies as presented here is better than you would expect when you consider the fact that it was chopped up so many times, played the drive-in circuit and was never a movie a studio would consider preserving if they even kept it on hand to begin with. But Arrow has come through offering the most complete presentation of the film in all of its incarnations here.In addition to that the extras should satisfy fans as well. They include high definition transfers of the films in 1080p, "The Trouble With Titian" a documentary featuring Tim Lucas that describes the long and twisted path the films took, an interview with Sid Haig who starred the later versions, an archive interview with director Jack Hill, a stills gallery, a fold out double sided poster featuring old and newly commissioned artwork, a reversible cover sleeve and a booklet about the films. The price is higher than most Arrow releases but again you're getting four complete films here folks.Fans of Corman will find this a must have in their collection as will die-hard Jack Hill fans whose numbers seem to be growing with each Arrow release that he is responsible for. Horror fans will want to add it to their collection as a reminder of those days when horror host ruled the airwaves. Movie lovers will want to have it because of the historical value on display. In short it is an interesting development to watch from one film to the next and a nice addition to any collection.

I have seen this movie many times,its king of weird like bucket of blood,cannot figure out the vampire subplot but its enjoyable to say the least.i know its two movies spliced into one.William Campbell is one of my favorite actors,he plays an artist/vampire who likes to chase young women,dips his victims in hot wax,like house of wax.it is kind of an art-house flick.directed by Jack Hill,who i believe was fired by Roger Corman during filming.Jack Hill made many good b movies after this like the women in cages flicks with the sexy Pam Grier,and heavy Sid Haig.i believe i recently seen the extended version of this,under the title blood bath,not track of the vampire.7 out of 10.

This is complicated so pay attention. Roger Corman bought an unfinished film shot in Europe called OPERATION TITIAN concerning the hunt by both cops and crooks for a stolen Titian painting. Patrick Magee was the star. At the same time Jack Hill was shooting a movie in Venice, CA about an artist (biker film alumnus William Campbell) who kills his models and dips them in boiling wax (where have we heard THAT before?). By combining the footage, a trick he was to do many times in the 60's Corman created a film that essentially made no sense at all. Now that has never stopped our Roger so he brought in new director Stephanie Rothman who added an effect new to American movies, an oil dissolve, and shot even more footage to create a film about an artist who sometimes transforms into his remote ancestor who was falsely accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake only to return as a vengeance seeking vampire. Got all that? The stolen Titian painting was lost in the shuffle and Patrick Magee shows up only briefly as a jealous husband who gets dumped alive into the boiling wax.Meanwhile watch for Corman regulars Jonathan Haze, Sid Haig and Carl Schanzer turn up as Beatniks (leftover characters from BUCKET OF BLOOD perhaps?) who hang out in a coffee house, argue about art and use the word "quantum" a little too frequently. Also in the cast is Lori Saunders (billed here as "Linda") who went on the play the airhead, would-be journalist Bobbie Jo Bradley on "Petticoat Junction". This time she plays a dancer who is in love with Campbell never suspecting what he does with his models. She has a lengthy (8 minutes by my stopwatch!) scene where she does an interpretive dance on the beach and models 3 bikinis, each one smaller than the one before it, during the film.I do believe Joe Spinell saw this movie since the ending of his film MANIAC borrows liberally from the climax of BLOOD BATH.PS: This was not Lori Saunders only encounter with a mad killer. She would be chased by an axe wielding psychopath in a Tor Johnson mask (!) in SO SAD ABOUT GLORIA (1972).