Dementia 13

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: 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: 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.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully creepy thriller from a young F. Coppola
Review: 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:
Summary: Francis Ford Coppola debut film is one of his best.
Review: Francis Ford Coppola is a very famous and successful director. Normally, the first films are normally the worst and don't appeal people because they are amateurs. This film was a surprise to me. It had all the elements of a good horror film. Blood and gory violence and bone chilling suspense.

The story seems simple, but it is sort of complicated. It is about a woman whose husband has a fatal heart attack. She then arrives at the doorstep of his family's large estate. For some reason, she feels that something is not right about the family. It seems as if they are hiding something.

Soon, her suspicions are higher when an axe murderer begins to mutilate them one by one. As she gets closer to the truth, the body count rises and the killer gets closer and closer to her.

The acting is outstanding and it keeps your heart pounding until the hair raising climax. I would recommend this for anyone who wants a gory chiller.

Rating:
Summary: A Complete Shock! This Movie Really Is Good!
Review: I happened across this film by accident when I decided to buy "Night of the Living Dead." "Dementia 13" was the second film on the DVD that contained both films. So I decided to check it out thinking that it would be just another b-movie with bad acting and stupid horror gags. I did notice, however, that Francis Ford Coppola directed this film, so my interest was piqued.

What I discovered is a truly good film! "Dementia 13" revolves around a family in Ireland and the matriarch's odd obsession with her deceased daughter who accidently drowned 7 years prior. Before you know it, people mysteriously start disappearing.

I feel that this is a good film because it keeps you guessing right up until the end. You think you know who the killer is and then a twist occurs and you end up questioning your entire theory. I should have known that a film by Francis Ford Coppola, even one like this, would not disappoint.

I would highly suggest watching this film. It is not only interesting, but also suspenseful and chilling!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: COPPOLA'S FIRST APOCALYPSE
Review: In 1963, the movie audience had already experienced the new kind of psychological horror movie born with the great PSYCHO. Francis Ford Coppola's attempt at matching that horror is greatly inferior, of course, but as an exercise in mental terror, it works on its own subliminal level. The wonderful Luana Anders starts out the film virtually murdering her rich husband, and then tosses his body in a pond, telling the family he's off on a business trip. She wants his Mama to change the will to include the in-laws. As in PSYCHO, Anders is dispatched early in the film in a very surprising way, and although it can't touch Janet Leigh's demise in PSYCHO or Angie Dickinson's in DRESSED TO KILL, it packs a wallop. From there on in, it's time to figure out who the nasty killer is. It's fairly easy to pick the killer out, but there are some wildly frenetic scenes before getting there. Bart Patton and Patrick Magee provide excellent support and one can detect the future genious of Coppola in this atmospheric thriller.

Rating:
Summary: COPPOLA'S FIRST APOCALYPSE
Review: In 1963, the movie audience had already experienced the new kind of psychological horror movie born with the great PSYCHO. Francis Ford Coppola's attempt at matching that horror is greatly inferior, of course, but as an exercise in mental terror, it works on its own subliminal level. The wonderful Luana Anders starts out the film virtually murdering her rich husband, and then tosses his body in a pond, telling the family he's off on a business trip. She wants his Mama to change the will to include the in-laws. As in PSYCHO, Anders is dispatched early in the film in a very surprising way, and although it can't touch Janet Leigh's demise in PSYCHO or Angie Dickinson's in DRESSED TO KILL, it packs a wallop. From there on in, it's time to figure out who the nasty killer is. It's fairly easy to pick the killer out, but there are some wildly frenetic scenes before getting there. Bart Patton and Patrick Magee provide excellent support and one can detect the future genious of Coppola in this atmospheric thriller.

Rating:
Summary: Cutting Edge...
Review: Louise Haloran (Luana Anders) accompanies her husband John (Peter Read) on a moonlight rowboat ride around the lake. Well, John's heart gives out and he drops dead in the middle of the lake! Devoted wife Louise dumps his carcass overboard and begins scheming immediately how she can worm her way into her mother-in-law's will. Louise pretends that John has gone away on a trip, and shows up at the family castle in Ireland to put her plot into operation. Upon arrival, Louise finds a family in the throes of insanity, as the matriarch, Lady Haloran (Ethne Dunn) has never fully recovered from the drowning death of her young daughter Kathleen. Every year since, the family gathers at Kathleen's grave, and tosses flowers by the tombstone until Lady Haloran collapses to the ground. Louise arrives just in time for the seventh annual observance of this macabre ritual! She realizes that mum is extremely vulnerable, and sets out to gain her confidence. She convinces her that she has heard Kathleen's voice in the castle. Louise places some of Kathleen's dolls at the bottom of the pond (where the drowning occured), weighted down by a wrench. She sees a most terrifying sight down there and re-surfaces, only to be hacked to death by a shadowy figure with an axe! The dolls pop up the next afternoon, sending mother completely over the edge. Her doctor, Dr. Caleb (Patrick Magee) tries to solve the mystery of the dolls, as well as Louise's sudden disappearance. A trespassing rabbit hunter is also dispatched by the axe maniac in grizzly, head-rolling fashion. William Campbell plays Richard Haloran. Bart Patton is his younger brother, Billy. Mary Mitchell is Kane, Richard's bride-to-be, who is the only ray of sunshine in this otherwise dark, gloomy place. Coppola offers some fine direction, and his story is full of nice creepy touches. This film was made for about the cost of the catering service in most modern day productions! It shows again, like in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, CARNIVAL OF SOULS, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, ETC., that money isn't everything in movie-making! Highly recommended...

Rating:
Summary: Solid Horror Entertainment
Review: This early horror effort by famed directed Francis Ford Coppola about an axe murderer stalking an Irish castle contained some pretty meaty violence for its day, but by todays standards, it is obviously very tame. That said, this film is more about atmosphere and style than gore, and if that's what your looking for, then you can't go much wrong with Demetia 13. Shame the killers identity is so easy to predict. A deserved classic of the genre, sadly this DVD doesn't do the film justice: the extras are skimpy and the the image is in full screen. Even worse, during the last 10 minutes, the screen would briefly break up and go all over the place. You thought they would have taken more care transferring a film like this to DVD, considering it's cult following. Even so, highly reccomended.