Blood Bath

I expected this to be a sped up remix of "Operation Titian", and was surprised at the amount of new footage and how the original is used to make the locations feel grander and gothic. Giallo style mystery of the original has been changed into a clearer horror film and director Hill adds new actors like his pal Sid Haig. The comedic scenes with the artists don't work that well, but the suspenseful additions are good and the style remains quite consistent. It feels like an U.S. Mario Bava film.

52.

Despite very low expectations given the time it was made & that Corman was heavily involved, I...actually kinda dug this. The comedy works in spite of itself, as the over-the-top digs at snooty artsy folk are a bit more heavy-handed than they need to be- but it's still pretty funny. Seeing a young Sid Haig here was neat. Only one of the three different heroines is all that smart or interesting, which was a shame, but the Maniac-esque ending was pretty cool. This is short, sweet, & worth a look.

It was interesting checking out the blu ray and watching what Jack Hill did with the original material vs what Stephanie Rothman mutated that into. The Rothman cut is definitely superior but still not the best.

Bland horror outing is hurt by the seams showing from its checkered production history which makes much of its narrative incomprehensible and dilutes its impact by focusing on too many protagonists. However some nifty set pieces (one chilling encounter by a swimming pool, and a ghoulish parade of late night party goers) as well as a brooding, creepy tone, maintain interest.

The film, and it's many versions, may not be all that great, but there is a documentary on the Arrow Video blu-ray that breaks down each version and tells the story of how each version came to be. This doc is better than all of the versions combined and is the perfect reason to pick the blu-ray up.