| Blood Mania | |
|---|---|
Theatrical poster to Blood Mania |
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| Directed by | Robert Vincent O'Neill |
| Written by | Peter Carpenter Tony Crechales |
| Starring | Peter Carpenter Maria De Aragon Toby Sacher Reagan Wilson |
| Music by | Don Vincent |
| Cinematography | Gary Graver Robert Maxwell |
| Editing by | P. Kennedy |
| Studio | Crown International Pictures |
| Distributed by | Crown International Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 28, 1970 |
| Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Blood Mania is a 1970 film written by Peter Carpenter (who also stars as Dr. Cooper) and Tony Crechales and directed by Robert Vincent O'Neil.[1]
Dr. Craig Cooper, a physician, is caring for his dying employer, Ridgeley Waterman. A wealthy old curmudgeon, Waterman is cared for at home by his daughter Victoria. Despite several attempts by Victoria, a sexually promiscuous woman, to seduce Dr. Cooper, she has so far been unsuccessful. Dr. Cooper soon learns that an unnamed old connection is blackmailed with his past affiliation with illegal abortions. The blackmailer is demanding $50,000 in hush money. During one of his house calls to examine her father, Dr. Cooper expresses his "tax" problems to Victoria Waterman. She tells him that she can acquire the money, and seduces him. Their affair consummated, Victoria proceeds to poison and kill her father with the motive of paying Dr. Cooper's debt with her father's estate.
With Dr. Cooper's assistance, Victoria avoids suspicion (Cooper rules the death a stroke) and her younger sister Gail returns from New York for the reading of their father's will. Much to Victoria's surprise, Gail is the primary beneficiary of the estate. The will leaves Victoria only with the use of her deceased father's house and a small living allowance. Distraught, she becomes bedridden.
While caring for Victoria, Dr. Cooper learns of Gale's new status as a wealthy heiress, and begins seducing her. When Gail returns home, she offers to split the estate with Victoria, who refuses. Gail reveals that she has already offered to help Dr. Cooper with his "tax" issues, and Victoria learns of the budding relationship between her lover and her younger sister. She bludgeons Gail to death with a lamp in the bathroom. Dr. Cooper soon returns to the house and finds Gail dead, with Victoria stoically painting in the next room. He becomes upset, emotionally asking her "why?" and then moving Gail's body to his car.
Returning to the house, Dr. Cooper embraces Victoria just as she sees an apparition of Gail's corpse standing behind the door. It fades, revealing Dr. Cooper's blackmailer, grinning menacingly as the painting is revealed, showing Dr. Cooper with a skeleton draped across his arms.