Dementia 13 (1963)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

Francis Ford Coppola (writer)
Jack Hill (second unit writer)

Release Date:

18 November 1966 (Denmark)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

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!

Plot:

John Haloran has a fatal heart attack, but his wife Louise won't get any of the inheritance when Lady Haloran dies if John is dead...

Plot Keywords:

Heart Attack | Castle | Pond | Axe Murder | Axe

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 Dunne)
Peter Read	...	John Haloran
Karl Schanzer	...	Simon
Ron Perry	...	Arthur
Derry O'Donavan	...	Lillian
Barbara Dowling	...	Kathleen

Also Known As:

The Haunted and the Hunted (UK)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (colorized)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-16 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | UK:15 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Filmgroup Productions

Trivia:

This film was originally going to be titled simply "Dementia." The "13" was added because it was discovered that the title "Dementia" had already been used for a 1955 film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the movie's latter half Dr. Caleb enters a work shed and discovers the body of Louise and the lifelike Kathleen doll. Carefully picking up the doll, he closes the shed door, and immediately in the next scene is shown walking with the doll in his arms and a cigar in his mouth.

Quotes:

Louise Haloran: 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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "In the Cellar: Retribution (#2.1)" (2009)

Scares on a shoestring and it's not bad.

When Alfred Hitchcock's Marion Crane (of "Psycho") stepped into the shower and met her fate, it kicked off a slew of stark, grisly chillers about nutcases, often wielding butcher knives or axes. This entry has the distinction of being one of Coppola's earliest directorial efforts and it is clearly influenced by Hitchcock, though without his budget or seasoned mastery. Anders plays a rather nagging wife who is visiting her husband's ancestral castle with him just in time to "celebrate" the anniversary of his kid sister's funeral. He, his two brothers and his mother gather annually to pay tribute to the little girl who was drowned on the premises years before. One brother (Campbell) is an angry sculptor with an American fiancee (Mitchel.) The other (Patton) is a gentle, sort of shy type. The mother (Dunne) can't get past the death of her daughter and faints on cue each year at the ceremony. Not long into the film, one death sets off a chain of events that unleashes a couple of other ones to where no one at the castle is safe and the audience is often not certain who the mad killer is (though veteran fans of horror/suspense shouldn't have that much trouble figuring it out.) The film is far from perfect, but given the unbelievable budgetary and filming restraints, it does manage to conjure up some creeps and story interest. The only part that really drags is the section involving an overly inquisitive doctor (Magee.) Otherwise, there is creativity in the filming of the deaths and a nice sense of atmosphere throughout (even if almost none of these Irish characters has anything resembling an accent!) There are slicker fright films out there, but this one wins points for accomplishing pretty much with precious little to work with.