Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

VividSimon Simply Perfect

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

soulexpress The directorial debut of Francis Ford Coppola (courtesy of producer Roger Corman), DEMENTIA 13 has been hailed as a forgotten masterpiece. Those who make that claim are only half right. It is a rushed production with a very low budget and a young director who had yet to find his voice. These elements don't have to mean a sub-par movie, but in this case they did.The plot: when John Halloran (William Campbell) dies of a heart attack, his wife Louise (Luana Anders) disposes of the body and lies that he was called away on urgent business so she can claim his inheritance. This leads to a bizarre family gathering in an Irish castle where an ax murderer picks them off one by one. Luana Anders is convincing enough as the scheming Louise. She also is quite attractive in a Dusty Springfield sort of way. The rest of the acting is what I expected: passable but nothing special. The characters are cursory and, though the Hallorans are of Irish descent, none have an accent. So why bother to set the film in Ireland? It never occurs to anyone to notify the police when their family and staff members go missing. The film does a poor job of hiding the killer's face during the ax murders. The violence is more implied than shown, a bad move on Coppola's part. The score is simultaneously uninspired and grating. And in several scenes, it's hard to hear what the characters are saying. DEMENTIA 13 is a desultory exercise that moves like molasses, offers no suspense, and at 74 minutes feels longer than Coppola's three-hour- long masterpieces, THE GODFATHER and APOCALYPSE NOW. On the other hand, I can see the genetic link between this film and the disastrous BRAM STOKER'S Dracula.Item: When Louise strips to her underwear and goes swimming in a nearby pond, her panties change color from white to black. Item: Though she is swimming at night, Louise has a clear view of everything under the water.Item: The family doctor tells an ailing Mother Halloran, "Think of your mind as a bird in the hand. When it's relaxed, you're fine. But when it's tense…." (How do I know what it means?)Item: The killer takes his ax to one of the servants, who is never mentioned again. Either no one noticed, or didn't care, that he was gone.Item: As the family doctor pursues the killer through the woods, there is a cigar in his mouth that vanishes and reappears with each cut.Item: The title is never explained.

Martin Bradley Even the director of "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now" had to start somewhere and here you have it. This early Coppola, (he wrote it as well as directing), was produced by Roger Corman and was filmed in Ireland. Despite being a cheapo it's quite a smart little horror picture. The acting is mostly terrible despite the presence in the cast of those fine Irish actors Patrick Magee and Eithne Dunne. The leads, shipped from America, were William Campbell and Luana Anders though their names would hardly boost the films box-office appeal so it's left to a fledgling Coppola to jizz things up which he does quite effectively. The creepy black and white photography of Charles Hannawalt also helps.

arcwulf This film is famous for being the directorial debut of Francis Ford Coppola, but it's more than that. No, really!The film starts when a greedy widow covers up her husband's death in order to get his share of his rich mother's inheritance. During the course of her scheme she visits her husband's relatives in the family's castle. There she learns of their dark past, and finds more than she bargains for!It sounds like a mystery, and, well, it is... but it's also a proto- slasher horror film, with gore that won't impress today's fans, but the gore isn't the point: The film owes much of its terror from its setting, its imagery, and surreal circumstances that have a tint of something otherworldly. From the sinister castle, with dark hallways, to the dead autumn plant life, daylight scenes that look like sunsets, and night scenes that are competently dark (a rarity at that time), the creepy music and some of the downright ghoulish scenes later on in the film, and you have a movie that looks scary without any unnecessary fog or smoke. The eerie music, crackling sound and even the contrasting tone on the grain of the film make it seem even more supernatural and horrifying at times. As a low-budget black and white film from this era, there are mistakes, to be sure (and a few are quite painfully obvious). But the expert camera work, scene layouts, creepy sets, more than make up for it.Now, I'm going to make some complaints, and they might sound harsh, but really, but really they're just minor nitpicks in what is a truly enjoyable film. First, you're going to see the murderer's identity from a million miles away. If it's not obvious to you in the first half hour, I would be surprised. Second, for a film that purports to take place in Ireland, there is a distinct dearth of Irish accents (and the ones that are there are not believable). Third, there are some technical flaws in the film, but outside of one painfully obvious errant boom mic they can be overlooked for the most part. Some of the actors are terrific (of particular note is Luana Anders as Louise, and Patrick Magee doing his usual sinister shtick as Dr. Caleb), but some of them are well... terrible (Mary Mitchell takes the role of the whiny, shrieking Kane, who is this film's innocent lamb, but still very unlikable). In some films these flaws would undo everything, but in this film they're just 'flavor.'In conclusion, if you like movies that can terrify you with what you don't see, as well as what you do, be sure to watch it!

SnoopyStyle John and his wife Louise Haloran (Luana Anders) have an unpleasant time together rowing a boat. He dies of a heart attack and she dumps his body in the water. She stands to lose everything because of his and his mother's Wills. So she tells everybody that he's away on a business trip. She must take care of his mother-in-law before she dies leaving everything to a charity for her daughter Kathleen dead for 7 years. Louise fakes an invite to the annual family remembrance for Kathleen.The plot is confusing. The motivation of Louise is barely decipherable. The movie is a bit of a mess. It's disappointing considering that it is both written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola in one of his earlier efforts. Although one must remember that this is a Roger Corman production. He's even copying Psycho in killing off the blonde female lead halfway through the movie. There is an attempt at spooky atmosphere with filming in and around an English manor. It never builds anything close to that. It's mostly a low-budget boring ax-murdering slasher horror. The kills aren't scary but there is some blood-splattering head-rolling fun.