Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie''s plot.
When filming wrapped on Roger Corman’s 1963 movie THE YOUNG RACERS and the director realized he still had $22,000 left, he thought about throwing together another quick film--as was his usual method--but was unable to find the time. So he asked his sound technician and friend Francis Coppola to write an idea and, if Corman approved, he’d hand over the dough. Corman wanted something bloody and PSYCHO-ish, so Coppola gave him a story idea about an axe murderer on the loose at an old Irish castle--a set left over from THE YOUNG RACERS. Corman liked it, gave Coppola the money, and a directorial debut was born.
DEMENTIA 13 centers around the Haloran family, an Irish-American clan 7 years on in the mourning of daughter Kathleen who drowned in the family pond when she was a child. Lady Haloran (Eithne Dunne) insists on a yearly graveside ceremony with her three remaining children Richard, Billy, and John (William Campbell, Bart Patton, and Peter Read respectively). However as the movie opens, John suffers a heart attack while rowing on the pond. Fearful she’ll be exiled from the family and therefore unable to worm her way into Lady Haloran’s will, John’s wife Louise (Luana Anders) dumps his body overboard, then writes a letter explaining his last minute call back to the States on business.
Louise then decides to go about convincing Lady Haloran that she’s in contact with the ghost of Kathleen and is going to be receiving a sign very soon. Louise sneaks into Kathleen’s old room, steals a few of her dolls, and means to tie them to a wrench at the bottom of the pond. When the string she’s used dissolves, the dolls will float up to the surface and that will be the sign from Kathleen. What it’s supposed to signify is never made clear because when Louise surfaces and tries to climb out of the pond, she is confronted by a shadowy figure who uses an axe on the young widow.
Tension mounts and the paranoia is increased as more bodies appear, the axe receives frequent use (thanks to some last-minute additions by Corman), and the family doctor, Justin Caleb (Patrick Magee), grows more determined to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the Haloran clan.
DEMENTIA 13 is a good movie. It’s not great--if there was any doubt before that it was ripping off PSYCHO that doubt is erased with the death of Louise in the pond--but it has its moments. While it should be obvious who the culprit is, Coppola managed to throw just enough doubt on the other characters that we’re never truly comfortable in our assumptions.
The castle and its surrounding grounds add some great atmosphere, but the music by Ronald Stein and Les Baxter is at times very distracting and overplayed.
The actors are passable but the script is . . . wordy: “It's nice to see her enjoying herself for a change. The mood around this place isn't good for her.... Especially an American girl. You can tell she's been raised on promises.”
Coppola’s direction is better than his writing and he plays well with his choice of camera angles to further the story as well as the mystery. The way he shoots Barbara Dowling as the corpse of Kathleen is downright chilling at times. In fact, in his first movie Coppola might have already trumped mentor Corman as a superior director. Then again, Corman’s always been more an idea man than a true filmmaker. At least, in my opinion.
The movie drags a bit in the middle and with a run time of only 75 minutes, that’s not good, but when it’s on, it’s on, and Coppola managed to make a pretty good horror film on his first try. It’s not the least bit frightening, but it’s entertaining. As for classic . . . ? Only in the sense that it was the starting point for the man who would later make THE GODFATHER. But he’d also make JACK, so you just never know, huh? Still, DEMENTIA 13 is definitely worth a look, maybe even a second viewing a few months later, although with a story like this, a mystery, how many times can you truly enjoy it, especially once you know who the villain is? Then again, I’ve only seen it once. The second time might be even better. We’ll see.
Product DetailsOriginal Title:Dementia 13Actors: Luana Anders - William CampbellCondition: NEWFormat: DVDDirector: Francis Ford CoppolaRuntime: 75 ...More at iNetVideo.com
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