Blood Bath (1966) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Sordi kills Daisy because he is possessed by the spirit of his ancestor Erno, a 15th-century vampire painter. When he takes Daisy to his studio to pose, the possessing force overtakes him and transforms him into a vampiric monster, causing him to slash her to death with a cleaver. This possession seems to be triggered by his artistic work and the dark energy of his studio.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Sordi visits the gallery window to check on his 'lost children,' hinting at his dark obsession with capturing victims through art.

• sordi
• daisy
• possession
• vampire
• murder
• ancestor

Sordi's vampiric form looks completely different from his human appearance - facially unrecognizable. This allows him to kill in plain sight, such as when he murders a woman in the town square and then drags her to a car while feigning a lover's embrace. The onlookers assume they are just an intimate couple, so no one suspects him of murder.

• sordi
• vampire
• disguise
• murder
• identity

Erno was Sordi's 15th-century ancestor who was condemned to be burned at the stake for being a vampire painter who captured his subjects' souls on canvas. The legend explains that the curse passes through bloodline - Antonio Sordi is possessed by Erno's spirit when he creates his art, transforming into a vampiric killer.

Foreshadowing: Donna reads Max the legend of Erno, warning that Sordi might also be a vampire.

• erno
• ancestor
• curse
• vampire
• legend
• bloodline

Dorian is a doppelgänger for both Donna Allen (Daisy's sister) and Melizza (a former lover of Sordi). This is a key element of the film's macabre theme - Sordi is drawn to women who resemble each other, and his vampiric confusion at the end stems from seeing Dorian as Melizza.

Foreshadowing: Sordi tries to protect Dorian because she resembles his past lover, and he warns her his studio is cheerless.

• dorian
• donna
• melizza
• doppelganger
• lookalike

The wax figures represent Sordi's victims - the murdered women whose bodies he preserved and painted. In the supernatural logic of the film, these animated corpses rise to enact revenge on their killer. This supernatural ending sees the victims themselves destroying the vampire rather than his human pursuers.

Foreshadowing: Sordi paints and waxes each victim, creating disturbing figures that foreshadow their eventual animation.

• wax figures
• revenge
• supernatural
• victims
• ending

In the final confrontation, Sordi becomes so consumed by his vampiric nature and past trauma that he mistakes Dorian for Melizza, his former lover. He attacks her with a knife while enmeshing her in netting, fully believing he is confronting Melizza rather than Dorian.

Foreshadowing: The beach scene shows Sordi's panic when Dorian expresses attraction, suggesting unresolved trauma from his past.

• sordi
• dorian
• melizza
• mistaken identity
• attack

After slashing Daisy to death with a cleaver, Sordi lowers her mutilated corpse into a vat of boiling substance - likely wax or a similar material used in his macabre art process. Her body becomes one of the preserved figures in his studio gallery of victims.

• daisy
• body
• wax
• vat
• studio

Donna goes to Sordi's studio alone to ask if he has seen Daisy, whom she hasn't seen in days. Despite Max's reluctance to believe her theory about Sordi being a vampire, Donna takes action based on the legend she read. Her solo confrontation leads directly to her becoming his next victim on the carousel.

Foreshadowing: Donna warns Max about the legend and suspects Sordi, showing her determination to find her sister.

• donna
• confront
• studio
• carousel
• murder

Max pursues the vampire after it chases Dorian from the beach because he wants to protect her and stop the murders. Though skeptical at first about Donna's warnings, the evidence of the vampire's attacks compels him to take action alongside his beatnik friends.

Foreshadowing: Max recognizes Daisy's painting at the cafe, linking Sordi to the disappearances.

• max
• vampire
• pursuit
• dorian
• rescue

Sordi panics because he knows his vampiric nature makes him dangerous to anyone close to him. He breaks the date and tries to gain control of himself after murdering Daisy. His warning that his studio is a cheerless place and his flight from physical intimacy reflect his struggle to protect Dorian from his cursed self.

Foreshadowing: Sordi warns Dorian his studio is bleak and breaks dates to try controlling his vampire impulses.

• sordi
• dorian
• panic
• intimacy
• vampire nature

Sordi approaches a woman at a party, chases her into the swimming pool, and drowns her there - but the other guests have moved inside the house, leaving no witnesses to the attack. This demonstrates his growing boldness and ability to isolate victims in private settings.

• party
• swimming pool
• drowning
• murder
• witnesses