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.

I must admit I enjoyed this movie when I recently saw it on Comet. The cobblestone roads, the medieval pillars and the clock tower all gave the film a creepy atmosphere.The Beatnik painters gave a touch of comic relief to the grim topic of a vampire artist. William Campbell did a great job as the prowling murderer. The attack on the female victims were very believable and exciting. Seeing the beautiful Sanders romp on the beach in a revealing bikini was also a bonus. I was surprised there were no police on the scene to question the painters or the artist. Not one cop in sight! I was also rather baffled that the vampire only went for the neck of one victim while the others were drowned, strangled or attacked with sharp instrument.

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.

This film really is a complete mess so it came as no surprise to me that it's actually made up of about three different films that were spliced together over a period of a few years. It's a shame really because there's several interesting plot elements on show and they could definitely have resulted in a decent movie – as evidenced by Roger Corman's A Bucket of Blood which is an excellent movie based on similar ideas. The central plot line revolves around an artist who happens to be the descendant of a man who was put to death for witchcraft centuries earlier. Both men were painters – the modern day one very successful. He paints pictures of beautiful women; before tossing them in a vat of acid when he's finished. He's apparently also a vampire. The film is shot in black and white and features some very interesting visuals, although it does look very cheap throughout. There are a few memorable faces; including those belonging to William Campbell and Sid Haig and the director's credit goes to Jack Hill, although Roger Corman had something to with it too apparently. It's a shame that the film couldn't have come together better because there are some good ideas here, but unfortunately it didn't and Blood Bath will be best be remembered as a bit of a mess. It's an interesting cult film...but I really wouldn't recommend going out of your way to find a copy!