 | | | | Dementia 13 |  | Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Actors: William Campbell, Luana Anders, Bart Patton, Mary Mitchel, Patrick Magee
Studio: 303 Recordings
Category: DVD
List Price: $7.98
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (33 reviews)
Sales Rank: 205468
Format: Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD
Running Time: 75 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
UPC: 617917580596
EAN: 0617917580596
ASIN: B0001DMWMA
Release Date: February 24, 2004
Theatrical Release Date: 1963
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
Francis Ford Coppola was working as an assistant to Roger Corman when he made this, his feature debut. The story goes that Corman let Coppola make the film so long as he could work around the shooting schedule of the film they were working on together, and the results are impressive given the budget constraints. Or maybe because of the budget constraints. The story concerns the family at Castle Haloran, the secrets surrounding the death of young Kathleen, and an axe murderer who seems to be picking away at all present. Coppola's deft direction keeps this from being a routine ghost story, using light and dark in his compositions to create tension and suspense. The film has an interesting way of spanning the traditional ghost story and the more modern gore-fests that we're used to. I have one bone to pick with the manufacturer of this disc: the transfer to DVD was made from tape. This is evident from the way the frames roll repeatedly during the last 15 minutes of the film, and the tape bunches a few times leaving video artifacts. DVD consumers want all the benefits of this medium, and not to have the degraded quality of tape preserved on it. If this is the only way you can get this film, at least the price is reasonable. It's also packaged as a Fright Night Horror Classic along with Night of the Living Dead and Revolt of the Zombies. --Jim Gay
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| Customer Reviews: Read 28 more reviews...
 The influence of "Psycho" was very strong June 5, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
[Note: possible Spoilers to follow. Fair warning, dear reader.]
It can't be sheer coincidence that Francis Ford Coppola made a film in 1963 (his first film where he was at the helm) that involves a fairly ordinary girl who does a bad thing involving greed and then half an hour into the film is hacked up.
In "Psycho", the character of Marion Crane was murdered suddenly in the motel shower; in "Dementia 13", Louise is killed unexpectedly in the pond on the grounds of the cavernous family estate, Castle Haloran. The murder scenes are actually rather alike in certain ways if you compare them: a lone blonde woman in water is surprised by an obscured maniac seen only in shadow. It should be noted that there's more blood when Louise is done in, compared to Hitchcock's carefully orchestrated shower scene where it only seems bloody when Marion is stabbed.
Even the musical score is in some ways a copy of "Psycho"; although "Dementia 13" features a harpsichord along with its ominous strings.
The plot basically involves a strange family in Ireland and the lunatic amongst them with a penchant for ax wielding. In America, Louise has conveniently watched John, her surly oaf of a husband, die... and then she covers up the incident in order to still inherit from his sickly mother's estate when the woman passes away. There are several suspects in this slightly gory whodunit: is it the sullen older brother, or the icy mother who seems slightly cuckoo, or maybe the smarmy and obnoxious doctor, or could it be the poacher?
The movie has a few decent touches peppered throughout which make it ever so slightly better than other similiar fare of that period. For example, Coppola is often careful and dramatic with lighting. A child's toy bear or monkey takes on an eerily ominous presence when lit from beneath. And the underwater shots are nicely handled. Also I must admit that some of the camera angles are unexpectedly unique.
What makes "Dementia 13" just a cut above the rest (pardon the pun, hee hee), you might ask? Perhaps the saving grace of the film was Luanna Anders, who plays Louise. She is a very capable actress who made a few B-pictures during this time, including Roger Corman's "The Pit and the Pendulum". In "Dementia 13" you both like her and loathe her; you understand her but you hate what she does. And Anders is great with expressions, and vocal cadences. Other actresses wouldn't make this role quite so believable and natural. She is just as good as Janet Leigh, as far as I'm concerned. If it weren't for Anders' solid performance here, I'd have dismissed this film hastily and never returned.
So my take on Dementia 13 is basically this: a more graphic variation of Hitchcock's Psycho, but much more a whodunit, set in a castle in the countryside. It's a decent spookfest. But it doesn't offer very much that's dramatically different or refreshing when compared to other horror movies of the early 1960's. It's not quite as fun or involving as other similiar mood pieces, such as "Paranoiac". But it's not bad for a first film by a young director.
 Even great directors have to be born June 15, 2007
A rather simple and short film by a young director. In black and white of course because it is cheaper, but also because it is very classic in that kind of psychological thriller. Hitchcock did it with Psycho, why not Coppola then? Basically it is the guilt that develops and is cultivated in a family when some unacknowledged, unrecognized and unknown children's game turns sour, that is to say ends up with a dead child. The point is that the situation lacks originality and what's more the cause of the death is even trite, drowning. The most interesting part is the study of the mother as a family tyrant that imposes some kind of eternal remembering of the dead sister. That puts everyone on edge, on the defensive, hence on the side of hiding what should not be hidden because it creates a sick atmosphere that leads everyone to some kind of psychosis if not schizophrenia. Then the film has some shortcomings, such as the inheritance and the mother's will, or whatever that disavows the daughters in law who are treated as so many strangers. Then what is the deal with the first son, the one who has a heart condition? How long can it be hidden that he is not in New York but at the bottom of a lake? But it is worth watching because we can witness the birth of a great film director in these black and white frames.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine & University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne
 A Movie With No Redeeming Features August 21, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
There are some movies that really are not organically whole. Instead, they are more like messes of discordant elements thrown together into a feature length film that is not a real movie. Invariably, these so-called movies are horrible productions. One such alleged movie is 1963's Dementia 13.
Before going on into the review, its is necessary to lay down the background behind the genesis of this particular flick. Back in the 1960's, there were basically 2 different circuits for movie distribution. The first and most glamorous was the A Theater circuit on which the big budget Hollywood studio productions were circulated. The other, more obscure circuit, was that of the drive-ins and the B Theaters that exhibited low budget productions and flicks of genres (particularly horror and "film noir") that the big studios rarely, if ever, touched. The origins of this dual circuitry date back to the early days of the film industry. With the decline and fall of the drive-ins and, to a great extent, the B Theaters, the only ways that low budget fimmakers can get their movies shown are made for TV movies whether they are for cable TV or direct to the public either on DVD or videotape. Some of these flicks are also shown at film festivals such as Sundance, but that is only a small source of revenue at the moment.
Now, back in 1963 the largest studio catering to the B circuit was American International Pictures (AIP) that employed an ambitious producer named Roger Corman. One of Corman's proteges at the time was a dude by name of Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola was both an aspiring screenwriter and also the assistant director on a flick called "The Young Racers." Bored by the work, Coppola quickly wrote up a screenplay and persuaded both Corman and the AIP honchos to put up $22,000 to make Dementia 13 simultaneously with "The Young Racers" using the same sets and cast of the other movie. Thus it was that 2 movies were produced at the same time, which is something that Hollywood rarely does and for good reason as the results are generally poor. The shooting time for Dementia 13 was only 2 weeks which helped to further lessen the film's quality.
This movie has one of the stupidest openings of all time. A man and his wife (Luana Anders) are in a row boat talking about his elderly mother and how the family fortune will be divvied up once mom dies. For some strange reason, he tells his wife that if he dies of heart attack, she will be cut out of the will. In one of those concidences that occur only in movies, in less than a minute he has a heart attack and dies in the boat. His wife then dumps him overboard and goes to the family reunion, which conveniently started the very next day, telling everyone that her husband is on a business trip.
As it turns out, this is a rather strange family. All of the family members are supposed to be Irish and live in Ireland, however no one has even the slightest Irish accent. In fact, none of the other "Irish" characters in the movie have Irish accents either. Everybody in this flick talks like Midwesterners. This raises the question of why have the movie placed in Ireland with allegedly Irish people when nobody speaks like real Irish folk. Why not set the movie in America?
There are some interesting characters in Dementia 13. There is a poacher who the family shelters for some strange reason from the game wardens. The old lady is quite strange and obsessed with the death of her 7-year old daughter many years ago. The scheming, conniving wife of the dead man is also interesting in her own way. There is also an axe murderer.
However, both the setup and these characters are completely wasted on a bad script, poor acting and an awful production. Continuity is totally lacking in this movie. Although the movie supposedly takes place over a weekend family reunion, the hair color/length of the character played by Luana Anders changes repeatedly. In one memorable scene, Anders is sitting at a table talking with other family members. She is first shown in a long sleeved sweater with long platinum blond hair. After the camera pans to one of her in-laws, it pans back to Anders whose hair has suddenly turned browner and is now wearing a sleeveless blouse. Less than a minute later, Anders is back with both super white hair and long sleeves.
One reason why Dementia 13 is such a bad flick is that Coppola's screenplay was only a rough draft when it got the green light. Another is the fact that Corman made heavy use of outtakes from previous films that the actors were in, as well as surplus film from "The Young Racers," which accounts for most of the continuity problems. The whole show reeks of both hasty production work and a poorly thought out script.
Obviously, there is no way that anyone at AIP could possibly have thought that Dementia 13 could have been anything other than a piece of dreck. The fact that they made it under those conditions and, even worse, actually released it, speaks volumes about the level of arrogance that existed in AIP circa 1963 due to the fact that it was top dog in the B-film world. They literally thought that they could make and release any piece of garbage and it would sell. The fact that Dementia 13 turned out to be a profitable endeavor only furthered their increasing lack of commitment to quality.
This development was ruinous in the long run for both AIP and the world of low budget films in general. As time went on and dreck increasingly filled up the drive ins and B-theaters, movie fans abandoned those places. The great majority of these theaters either went out of business or switched over to showing big budget Hollywood productions.
Thus, the true significance of Dementia 13 is not as a movie, but as an event. The financial success of this pathetic production encouraged B-film producers to make and release movies with increasing lack of regard for their level of quality. In the long run, this tendency brought about the near death of what was once a strong and vibrant part of the movie making scene. Today, there is only a small remnant that desperately clings for its very survival in a world where the vast majority of movie reviewers completely ignore their productions and the general public is oblivious to their work.
If A Body Meet A Body: Coppola's Big Screen Debut June 28, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Seven years ago Kathleen, youngest child and only daughter of Lady Haloran, drowned in a pond on the family estate. On each anniversary of her death, Lady Haloran (Eithne Dunne) demands the return of her three sons for a morbid memorial. This year one of her sons has married, and wife Louise (Luana Anders) is determined to get her hands on the family fortune. When her husband dies of a sudden heart attack, Louise hides his body and designs a plan to worm her way into Lady Haloran's good graces--but the plan uncovers a secret relating to the dead Kathleen, and before you can say Whist, Faith, or Begorrah there is an ax murderer lurking the castle's shadows.
Today DEMENTIA 13 is best recalled as the directorial debut of Francis Ford Coppola, who was then employed as an assistant to producer and director Roger Corman. Corman has been associated with the occasional "quality" film over the years, but then as now he is best recalled for such low-budget flicks as ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS, WASP WOMAN, and CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA. While on location with Corman on another film in Ireland, Coppola wrote a script that could be filmed on the same sets and with the same crew and cast--and since the movie would be so cheap it couldn't loose money, Corman said okay.
There are no two ways about it: DEMENTIA 13 was and is a movie designed for an audience of uncritical teenagers and drive-in moviegoers; it is not a lost masterpiece and there is nothing in it to herald Coppola's future fame. Still, and in spite of the fact that it borrows rather liberally from such films as DIABOLIQUE and PSYCHO, the plot does have a certain originality, and even critics of 1963 commented on the film's memorable atmosphere.
1963 audiences screamed over the film's ax attacks; audiences of today, however, are likely to find them thin stuff. All the same, it remains an entertaining film of its type. Assuming, of course, you can actually find a version on DVD or VHS that is actually viewable: the film quality was probably not great to begin with, and I've yet to encounter any reproduction that can be called better than mediocre. But fans of the 1950s and 1960s B flicks will consider it a minor classic of its kind--and every one else will get a kick out of seeing Coppola's first film of note. Worth seeking out.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
a Spine Chilling Moment. June 25, 2006
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Its starts with John Haloran(Peter Read) and his wife Louise Haloran(Luana Anders) are on a rowboat ride during the night. John Haloran dies from a heart attack. This leaves Louise with a bit of a problem. Louise will not get to inherit any of the Haloran family money if her husband is dead. So she writes a letter from John trying to convince the family that John has been called away on business to New York while she journeys to the home in Ireland, where her plot eventually doesnt go as planned. The story leads to the secrets behind the death of a young girl named Kathleen, a member of the Holoran family, with an axe murderer involved, taking people out one by one.
The film is slightly slow paced but rewards us with the story as it picks up with the first axe murdering scene as he hacks away at the helpless victim that lies below his feet. It isnt exactly a gory bloodshed scene but does give us a great sense of macabre and butchery. You can see the axe hacking away at the victim and the victim struggling while covered in blood but you never see each of them in actual contact.(Looks like a great inspiration from Alfred Hitchcocks 'Psycho'.) Its gives us a great deal of an intense spine chilling moment with the axe murder dragging the body along the field by the hair. The great thing about this is how Coppola captures an example of identifying the personality of the psychopath without even seeing his face.
The story goes further presenting us with a mystery of who is the axe murderer. Each of them lead to different events and clues trying to convince us that everyone is a suspect. But it seems they presented us with one clue to many.
..."a ghostly murder mystery with a chilling twist"... The twist is actually predictable and not actually chilling. But let me remind you this is just the ending. Everything else before this gives us a decent amount of entertainment to keep you watching. And even though it doesnt live up to the standards of Alfred Hitchcocks 'Psycho', Dementia 13 truly has its inspirations. A great deal of it, no doubt.
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