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 fiance 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.


"And Here Comes the Chopper, to Chop Off Your Head..."   September 7, 2002
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Francis Ford Coppola's first film of note, graduating from the tutelage of schlock-meister Roger Corman. It was made hot on the heels of Hitchcock's more famous Psycho, and is very similar in content and style.

Con-woman Luana Anders' husband-married-only-for-the-family-money dies before she can be included in the will, causing her to seek out a new scam. Deceased hubby's wealthy Irish family is more than usually superstitious, yearly celebrating with a morbid ceremony the date that their matriarch's youngest daughter, Kathleen, drowned in the lake out back. Anders poses as a medium and stages a few tricks to make herself look good to the rich matriarch, who buys her act. Eldest son William Campbell knows she's a phony, and kid brother Bart Patton has been generally kind of creepy ever since the day Kathleen died - which makes it kind of a toss-up as to who follows Anders out to the haunted lake one night, and cuts her up with an axe...

This movie succeeds on its acting and its atmosphere, which are terrific. Anders was good in everything she did, and this was probably her best role. Campbell never disappoints, and Patton is wonderfully intense and unsettling. The always creepy - and always good - Patrick Magee is on hand as the family doctor, who seems to know a great deal more about the recent mysterious disappearances (Anders isn't the only one who goes missing) than he's letting on. The music score isn't quite as frightening as Bernard Hermann's for Psycho, but it's damned close - the opening theme and credit sequence are terrific, even for American International Pictures, which was usually good in that department. Anders' murder scene will haunt your nightmares about as bad as Janet Leigh's in Hitchcock's film.

Well worth the time and trouble, especially for fans of film noir.


Coppola's first--a mixed bag   July 15, 2004
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is not the best horror movies I've ever seen, but one of the best films in terms of *atmosphere*. The frightening parts about it are less in the film itself than what the film suggests--the really psychotic point to which codependency can build, obsession, and a host of other disturbances, none of which involve the supernatural but suggest it. Along with the Vincent Price films he did, this is the best film you'll see that Roger Corman was involved in.

Luana Anders is, ironically, the strongest presence in this film. Thing is, she doesn't last very long, and the viewer isn't all that devastated when she does disappear. A scheming, money hungry witch, she preys on the co-morbidity of an elderly woman to the point of sadism. A young girl dies tragically at a young age. An Irish family living in Nowheresville idealizes her mysterious death to the point of madness. Someone is responsible, and we eventutally find out who. There are a few 'jump out of your seat scenes', one of them being the untimely (and grisly) death of Anders. It's been awhile since I've seen this film, but much of the imagery (dolls, truly 'demented' childhood memories, and the last exclamation by the ultimate culprit: "DON'T TOUCH THAT!") have remained with me. This is an odd blend, Corman and Coppola. A worthwhile old cinematic antique of misery.


Cutting Edge...   January 26, 2005
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

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...