Blood Bath

Plot synopsis:
Antonio "Tony" Sordi [William Campbell] lives in a studio under an old belltower where he spends his time painting, just as his ancestor Erno Sordi did five hundred years ago. The only difference is that Erno Sordi was convicted of conspiring with the devil and was burned at the stake, whereas Antonio Sordi sells his paintings at prices that the local beatniks can only dream about. What they would never dream is that the Erno Sordi of legend is the same Antonio Sordi of the 20th century [or maybe Antonio is possessed by his ancestor? The movie never explains this little detail.] and that Sordi is a vampire. After feeding on his victims, always young and beautiful women, Sordi takes them back to his studio, places them in various poses from which he paints his popular "dead red nudes," and then tosses their bodies into a bubbling bath of some sort (acid?).Tony's new girlfriend of two weeks, an aspiring dancer named Dorean [Linda Saunders], doesn't know the sordid side of his character, mostly because Tony refuses to let her visit him at his studio. Instead, they meet on the beach where no one knows them and where Dorean can dance in the sand while wearing tights or bikinis. Tony doesn't want Dorean to find out about his pursuits lest the same thing happen as it did in the 15th century. It was his lover Melissa who complained to the ecclesiatical council that he had cast a spell on her and captured her soul on his canvas. Melissa stood laughing at him as his body burned.Max [Karl Schanzer], one of the local beatniks, has been experimenting with new artforms. His latest invention, the quantum gun, has his friends excitedly discussing this "formal" method of painting. But when his model, Daisy Allen [Marissa Mathes], disappears and shows up in one of Sordi's newest paintings, Max asks Daisy's sister Donna [Sandra Knight] to pay Sordi a visit and see if she can find out where Daisy has gone. Sordi denies knowing Daisy, of course, and slams the door in Donna's face. As Donna leaves, an old-timer reminds her about the legend of the belltower. That night, concerned that Sordi might be an actual vampire, Donna follows him on his wanderings, but they are intercepted by a group of costumed party-goers. When Donna sees Sordi's face and gets a look at his fangs, she screams in horror and tries to run away. She comes upon a carousel and "escapes" by riding round and round on one of the horses. When the carousel stops, Donna is dead.Dorean is starting to feel inscure in her relationship with Tony. The fact that he won't invite her to his studio is a red flag, and she begins to question him about how many girls he's making love to and why he won't make a pass at her. Tony responds by running away while shouting, "You have to give me time!" With tears in her eyes, Dorean collapses on the beach until she notices someone watching her. When she gets up to leave, he follows her. She starts to run, but he stays on her tail. Fortunately, Dorean runs into Max and some of his friends. While they pursue her follower, Dorean goes over to Tony's studio where she thinks she will be safe. Max catches up with Tony, they struggle, and Tony falls off a roof. As Max is telling his buddies how the face looked like that of a vampire, they notice the body has disappeared.Somehow Tony has gotten back to his studio before Dorean, and he's really flipped out. He's talking to a painting of Melissa, telling her that he needs her and that she has to come back to work with him one more time. Unfortunately for Dorean, that's the moment she arrives. Dorean is horrified when she sees the dank, cobweb-ridden studio with rats and dead bodies in various states of decay, but it's too late. Tony has caught her in a net and is waving a straight-edged razor in front of her face, telling her how he's going to cut her so that he can paint Melissa as Enro Sordi one more time. As he places the razor against Dorean's neck, all the dead bodies begin to awaken [No reason given]. They crawl toward Sordi and push him into the vat of whatever. Dorean faints, and that's how Max and his buddies find her. [Original Synopsis by bj_kuehl.]

Tags: murder, flashback

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