Dementia 13 Background
Dementia 13 (1963) was written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who was then a relative unknown. The flick, produced by legendary B-filmmaker, Roger Corman, was originally deemed unreleasable. Jack Hill took the director’s helm for the additional sequences. Dementia 13 was supposed to be a Psycho-style, low-budget horror movie. However, the film never achieved mainstream success and is often neglected by just about everyone. Critics panned it, stating that it stressed “gore rather than atmosphere” and announced that it all but buried any “workable plot.”
It’s unfortunate that Dementia 13 gets such a bad rap. Keeping in mind the Golden Age of the slasher films of the late 70s and early 80s, this movie is a credible and perhaps commendable ancestor. There are enough blood, guts and mysterious elements to satisfy any horror movie fan.
Plot Summary
The movie begins with a young married couple, John and Louise Haloran, taking a moonlight boat ride on a lake. They argue over John’s wealthy mother’s will. Louis is upset that she’s not entitled to any of it and wonders who “Kathleen”, the mother’s beneficiary, is.
Unfortunately, immediately after the argument, John drops dead of a massive heart attack. Louise buries him in the lake and heads to the family’s ancestral home in Ireland, stating that John is “away on business.” Louise witnesses some strange goings-on at the castle.
She learns that Kathleen is her dead husband’s deceased sister. Kathleen died as a child under suspicious circumstances. Because Lady Haloran, John’s mother, is still so aggrieved over Kathleen, Louise sees the perfect opportunity to use the dead girl’s toys and such to persuade Lady Haloran that Kathleen is communicating with her family from beyond the grave.
Before she can get too far, Louise is murdered mysteriously by a crazed axe murderer. The family doctor investigates and discovers that Billy Haloran is responsible not only for Louise’s death but also Kathleen’s. He is shot by the good doctor before he can murder his other brother’s fiancée, who also came to the castle for a visit.
DEMENTIA 13's LEGACY
Dementia 13’s gothic elements, combined with the slasher gore, make it a unique commodity. It’s a bridge between two worlds of horror that has helped to pave the way for future filmmakers whilst paying homage to its precursors, most notably the films based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe. The film is worth a second, or perhaps, third look.
To watch Dementia 13 in its entirety, head on over to AMC’s Monsterfest web site.
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