Dementia 13

Daniel Jolley

at 9:02 pm

Francis Ford Coppola and Roger Corman are two names I would never have thought of putting together, but linked they are in the production of the highly enjoyable thriller Dementia 13. I was quite amazed to discover that Coppola got his start as an assistant to Corman, and this film, Coppola’s directorial debut (the first he acknowledges, anyway), was actually filmed on the same set of the contemporary Corman production of The Terror. This really is Coppola’s twenty thousand dollar baby, as he wrote as well as directed the film. I for one found it quite good. Although the killer is not that hard to identify, there were enough suspicions cast upon one or two other characters to keep me from putting all of my accusatory eggs in one basket before the climactic ending. There are also some twists and turns along the way that I didn’t really see coming, and I was forced to change my whole outlook midway through the drama. Dementia 13 is not really scary or gruesome, but it does succeed in producing something akin to chills on one or two occasions. The murder weapon of choice is an axe, but the wielder of that axe is in no way very proficient; he can only succeed by hacking away maniacally until such time as he actually makes contact with the victim’s body. He does have a natural talent for lifting a dead body by the hair and dragging it along behind him, though, which is always a plus on a mad killer’s resume.

At the heart of this story is the tragic death of a little girl named Kathleen. Each year on the anniversary of her death, the grieving mother and her sons reenact the funeral service, which culminates in the mother’s collapse. This particular year, two unwelcome guests reside in the family’s ancient Irish castle, the greedy wife of the eldest son (who is unable to be there for reasons made quite obvious at the beginning of the movie) and the fiancé of another son. As individuals begin to mysteriously disappear from the castle grounds, almost everyone in the family becomes a potential suspect. The family doctor is yet another person to keep your eye on, as his behavior is questionable and suspicious at times. The deceased child Kathleen does haunt the family in a sense, and her appearance to an individual marks that person for certain axe-related death. I found this movie more and more compelling at it went along, and I quite enjoyed trying to figure out exactly who the killer actually was. The pace of the story was aided greatly by very effective background music, and Coppola definitely displayed the type of talent that would blossom into directorial greatness in his later career. If you enjoy a good who-dunnit movie, you will almost certainly get a big kick out of Dementia 13.
Rating: 5 / 5

stuart

at 1:03 am

eing a film buff, and not exclusively a fan of the horror genre, I expected a kitchy, amateurish farce-of-a-flick. What it turned out to be caught me absolutely off-guard. The only thing more terrifying than the film itself was the poor overall rating it received on imdb. This is a superb example of a psychological thriller, and certainly the most underrated and underappreciated film of this genre I have ever seen.

Dementia 13 is a fairly simple narrative on the surface, but underneath it is an interweaving story, each branch adding depth and mystery to the story and each branch being a carefully-planned twist of the senses.

My wife, being a huge fan of the genre, especially of films from the 60s, has already encouraged me to watch numerous other films similar in narrative feel, such as “The Innocents” based on The Turn of the Screw by Henry James or “The Haunting” based on the Shirley Jackson story. After seeing so many films, many of which were based on well-crafted stories by famous authors, it astounds me to think that A young Francis Coppola not only directed this superb film, but CONCEIVED it and WROTE it as well. The result reads just as well (and even better, in many cases) than many well-crafted novels, itself being a story of an utmost macabre and chilling nature… and the storytelling leaves little to be desired.

Francis Coppola, only 22 at the time, made this film with a miniscule budget of only $20,000 and an extremely rushed shooting schedule. It is no wonder Coppola blossomed into a well-respected, master craftsman of film. And the limited resources all but completely excuse any of the flaws in this film. Looking at the facts about the film and its maker surely must invoke jealously in any artist who realizes what true masters can accomplish at a young age.

Yes, it is true that Dementia 13 takes elements from Hitchcock’s Psycho (among other Hitch films), including anticipatory tension, a finely dissonant score, and even several camera shots, but Coppola isn’t just mimicking Hitchcock. He’s manipulating the very essence of what makes Hitchcock frightening, while adding his own distinct style and flavor to the film.

And it IS genuinely frightening. It implies unspeakable things and it toys with one’s mind as one watches it. And when the screen DOES show you something you’ve been anticipating, (partly in thanks to the demented film score,) expect to be surprised and expect your skin to tingle something fierce. The psychological angle with which Coppola approached Dementia 13 leaves one with the terrible sense that the human mind REALLY IS capable of this kind of demented horror… which, of course, makes the film all the more terrifying and satisfying.

This film is not merely an amateur’s flailing attempt. It is the first masterpiece of a blooming genius.

Maybe more people just need to see this fairly obscure film before it will get its overdue appreciation. 9 out of 10
Rating: 4 / 5