Dementia 13 (1963)

When her husband John has a heart attack while out in a rowboat on the lake, Louise Haloran throws his body overboard and later tells the family that he has left on an urgent business trip.... See full summary »

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Hill (second unit writer)

Stars:

William Campbell, Luana Anders, Bart Patton

Cast

Complete credited cast:
William Campbell	...	Richard Haloran
Luana Anders	...	Louise Haloran
Bart Patton	...	Billy Haloran
Mary Mitchel	...	Kane
Patrick Magee	...	Justin Caleb
Eithne Dunne	...	Lady Haloran (as Ethne Dunn)
Peter Read	...	John Haloran
Karl Schanzer	...	Simon
Ron Perry	...	Arthur
Derry O'Donavan	...	Lillian
Barbara Dowling	...	Kathleen

Storyline

When her husband John has a heart attack while out in a rowboat on the lake, Louise Haloran throws his body overboard and later tells the family that he has left on an urgent business trip. Her main concern is that she can only inherit a part of the family fortune if if her husband is alive. The Halorans are a strange family, still grieving over the death of the youngest daughter Kathleen who drowned in a pond when she was just a child. They hold an annual ceremony of remembrance every year on the anniversary of her death. This year however, someone is wielding an ax intent on murder.

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Plot Keywords:

pond | heart attack | ceremony | rowboat | irish | 

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Taglines:

You Must Pass the "D-13" Test To Prepare You for the Horrifying Experience of Dementia 13. If You Fail the Test...You Will Be Asked to Leave the Theater!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 November 1966 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Demencia 13

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios, Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmgroup Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color (colorized)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Francis Ford Coppola was assisting Roger Corman on the set of The Young Racers in Ireland. Corman allowed Coppola to use the same set, crew and actors Luana Anders, William Campbell and Patrick Magee for this film if he could shoot around the shooting schedule of Corman's film.

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Goofs

When Billy and Kane are talking by the pond, Billy mentions that they always hold black umbrellas,but at the funeral Lady Haloran and Billy are holding black umbrellas, but Richard is holding a white umbrella.

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Quotes

Louise Haloran: Castle Haloran is a bit perplexing, a very strange place really, old and musty, the kind of place you'd expect a ghost to like to wander around in.

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Connections

Featured in The Sopranos: University (2001)

User Reviews

"Well this is the Devil's own climate."

Dementia 13 is Francis Ford Coppola's first flick, his directorial debut. Yeah, that's right. The man that brought you Apocalypse Now and The Godfather worked first in horror. And worked well I might add. Under the producing eye of Roger Corman, this is one of the earlier additions to the slasher genre, and it's not bad. A few flaws keep this one from being a black and white masterpiece. My biggest peeve with the film is the fact that it's not real hard to see who the killer is. They should have done a better job of masking his face. There are a few priceless scenes though. The radio being tossed into the water, and the muffling of the music is quite cool. I love the part where the killer is dragging the girl's body by the wrist, it's rather wicked. It also has perhaps one of the earliest decapitations. Patrick Magee is fabulous as the aristocratic doctor. This hard to find gem is worth looking for, especially for old school horror fans.