Rating: 
Summary: A nice little low budget ax murderer in an Irish castle film
Review: "Dementia 13" was the result of producer Roger Corman's infamous "apprentice" program at AIP; Corman was shooting his own film and let Francis Ford Coppolla get his first director's credit by shooting "Dementia 13" on the same location ... "Dementia 13" is just a nice little low-budget horror film for which the biggest complaint is that the pace is a tad slow. The story is set in Ireland and if it bears a strong resemblance to Corman's film adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe, ... When her husband drops dead, Louise Haloran (Luana Anders) know she will be cut out of the Haloran family inheritance so she pretends he is in New York on business and heads off to the ancestral home in Ireland to try and get in good with the family. But at Castle Haloran the family is engaged in morbid rituals marking the death of John's sister Kathleen, who drowned in the pond six years earlier. The question of inheritance becomes more interesting once family members start being hacked to death by an ax-murderer. Despite this development "Dementia 13" is not a gory film, but more of a character study, which alone makes it somewhat atypical for the time. The most recognizable faces in the film are Patrick Magee ... and William Campbell ...
Rating: 
Summary: Two Corman classics for the price of one! However...
Review: ...buyer beware of extremely low quality EP mode video re-production.The first feature of this 2 tape set is "Dementia 13". Released in 1963, this cult classic is notable for atleast one reason, it was Francis Ford Coppola's directorial debut. The film is centered around a spooky old castle, the accidental drowning of a little girl, and a deranged killer who uses an axe to do his victims in. Semi-enjoyable B-grade "whodunnit" horror flick that is sure to be enjoyed by every fan of the genre. However, viewer beware: "Dementia 13" is a dark and somewhat disturbing film and contains scenes of graphic violence - not recommended for the squeamish or faint of heart. The second feature, "Creature from the Haunted Sea", on the other hand, is a highly enjoyable B-grade sci-fi monster flick filled with lots of camp humor and several genuine "laugh out loud" moments of corny comedy. This one's about a United States secret agent who is posing as a crew member on board a boat being used by a small group of gangsters in search of undersea treasure. The not too threatening gang is made up of a Humphrey Bogart look-alike, his sexy girlfriend who likes to spend most of her time prancing around in bikinis while singing the film's title song, the girlfriend's younger idiot teenage brother who happens to look a lot like Richie Cunningham, and a mentally challenged, muscle bounded adolescent whose main form of communication is imitating the sounds of nearly every member of the animal kingdom. As if all that weren't enough, there's also a sea monster,complete with Freddy Krueger gloves for hands and diver's fins for feet who looks a lot like something you'd see on an episode of the "Muppet Show", thrown into the mele to mess things up a little more. The animated sequence during the opening credits is also quite enjoyable. There's also quite a bit of truly fascinating underwater footage that rivals similar scenes filmed for the "Creature from the Black Lagoon" films. The 3 star rating is mainly for "Creature from the Haunted Sea". "Dementia 13", while not really a bad movie, gets 2 & a half stars. Again, the quality of this Madacy Entertainment two tape edition leaves a lot to be desired. The tapes are [poor] EP copies and come with all the viewing problems that accompany most videos recorded in that mode, the exception being videos produced by Goodtimes Entertainment which usually happen to be quite good. Unless you really want to spend absolutely as little money as possible for these two movies and don't care much about product quality, then this edition is just right for you. However, you'd really be better off spending a little more money and buying these movies separately from better quality video manufacturers. At any rate, happy viewing, and try not to get too scared or laugh yourself to death!
Rating:
Summary: A rarity. A horror film with acting!!
Review: A disturbing horror film which has joined the ranks of 'cult classics'. This movie seems to get better with each viewing, probably due to the fine performances turned in by mostly Irish actors who worked for mere peanuts to be involved with this Coppola/Corman production. Luana Anders is nothing short of superb. William Cambell is also excellent, and as 'DVD special features' commentary goes, his is far more entertaining and informative than most. This would rate as a 5-star if it weren't for the less than spectacular image transfer, and perhaps for the fact that the story itself falls slightly short. But don't let that dissuade you - this movie deserves a place in any film buffs collection for a myriad of other reasons. For example, the underwater shots are sharp and creative - then in the commentary section we learn that due to budget constraints Coppola designed his own underwater camera housed in wood and tar! Finally, this is still one of the scariest pictures I've ever seen. That alone is reason enough for horror fans to pick this one up. Not for the faint of heart, however.
Rating:
Summary: Coppola has done better, but this ain't bad.
Review: A pretty gory (at least for the 60's), but pretty effective early slasher movie by Francis Ford Coppola. The plot gets a little muddled with the scheming wife thing, but after the first fifteen minutes when it settles down to a regular slasher flick with a madman with an axe running around, it gets good. Cool ending, too, but probably too slow for some.
Rating:
Summary: gory thriller
Review: An all star cast reinforce a beutiful script and of course one of the best directors in the world....A gory but clever grotesque horror/thriller. Not the best movie Ive ever seen but by FAR not the worst.
Rating:
Summary: Creature From Haunted Sea
Review: Another fun spoof from Roger Corman. If you liked the ORIGINAL "Little Shop Of Horrors", and have a dry sense of humor, you will probably enjoy this kooky, often overlooked gem. Edward Wain (Robert Towne) is inept Government Agent XK342. He is on the trail of mobster Renzo Capeto, a Bogart wanna-be who is transporting Colonel Tostada, a group of exiled Cuban nationals, and a large portion of the Cuban treasury out of Cuba. Renzo is also accompanied by Mary-Belle Monahan (an infamous gangster moll), Happy Jack Monahan (her dim-bulb gangster-in-training brother) and Pete Peterson Jr. (a hoodlum/animal impersonator). Wain assumes the identity of "Sparks Moran" and somehow convinces Renzo to add him to the gang. Renzo concocts a plan to "invent" a sea monster, so that the Cubans will allow him to change their course. The phony sea monster will allow him to eliminate a few of the Cubans, and get himself closer to the treasure. Unfortunately, someone else invented the monster first.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Flowers Died When it Touched Her Grave
Review: As far as directorial debuts go, Dementia 13 packs a wallop, and understanding the circumstances around which it was filmed (in spare time around a Corman flick) makes it even better. The story of a sick family ritual memorializing the drowning of a little girl and the mad axe murderer chop, chop, chopping along is effectively eerie, and quite bloody for its day. Hell, there's an actual decapitation shown for cryin' out loud, and the film was made in the early 1960's! As far as suspense goes there really isn't much there, figuring out who the killer is won't tax any brain cells but all in all it's good fun nonetheless, with some pretty good performances and some damn fine direction. A must see for serious Horror fans, but not for everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the 5 greatest movies ever made.
Review: Dated, but still great.
Rating:
Summary: A b-movie classic for lovers of obscurity!
Review: Dementia 13 is one of Coppola's first and most memorable films. It is an extremely obscure b-movie horror flick and this version is one of the best copies that I have seen on video. I got the widescreen version, wanting to enjoy every inch of film possible. I was a little dissapointed since the letter-boxing is very small and doesn't offer much more than the regular edition though it still has more of the film than you would normally see.
Rating:
Summary: Underwater tombstones and beheaded women.
Review: DEMENTIA 13 was Francis Ford Coppola's feature film debut. For that reason alone the movie is worth watching. However, besides that fact, the film stands up as a fairly decent piece of classic thriller/horror. In many ways the movie parallels another thriller/horror classic: PSYCHO. Both films begin with a beautiful blond committing a crime who ends up coming to an untimely and gruesome demise about halfway through the story. Though Psycho hid the identity of the killer a little better, it's pretty obvious in both films who the murderer is. The acting in the film is believable and the use of lighting is rather creative, adding to the movie's tone. Overall, a underrated horror classic worth watching on it's own merit's and not just those of it's director.
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