5
(supernatural suggestions)
6
(some violence, mild sexuality)
5
(worth seeing once)
If you peruse collections of old movies or the $1 DVD section you’ve probably heard it over and over by now: "Dementia 13" is one of Francis Ford Coppola’s earliest works. It’s easy to see he hasn’t hit his stride as an A-list director at this point although framing, shot composition, and mood are better than a lot of other movies of the early 60’s. It’s still not a favorite of mine, none of his movies are, but it is a respectable effort.
Lady Haloran hasn’t been in her right mind since the drowning death of her daughter some years ago. She holds an annual memorial, and some of the family members believe the girl haunts the castle. They seem to put up with their mother as much because she has all the money as any other reason. She’s not entirely sane and not very nice. The lure of money has driven some of these people to villainy but at least one person has gone to the extent of grisly murder. Can anyone live long enough to figure out who the culprit is?
The acting in this is pretty good - better than average for an old horror flick. That helps the quality of the movie a lot. I’m not at all familiar with any of the actors though at least some of them appear to have done other things. Sometimes a movie can rely too heavily on a big name like Lugosi or Karloff so this one is arguably stronger by the absence of any such horror movie icons (which is not to say that I don't greatly enjoy a good Karloff movie).
There are some negatives. I don’t much like the narration, but thankfully it doesn’t last long. The whispering scenes can be hard to hear clearly so I don't like them much, either. Some of the “shock” shots don’t really work primarily because they try so hard to be ghostly that they fail to resemble anything real making it hard to get the point of them immediately (this is likely due in part to the limitations of the video quality of the presentations I've seen). Those are few enough to not be a major complaint, and most come to be explained later on anyway; it just hurts the intended impact if you don’t follow the proper train of thought early enough.
The viewer needs to pay closer attention to what’s going on than with many other movies of this type. Particularly when scenes and timeline skip around it can be easy to miss something, or think you have until the pieces fall into place. The abrupt ending doesn't help in that respect. There really isn’t enough wrap-up to allow the impact of the climax to sink in, and if you're still trying to sort through the timeline skips the plot can get more confusing than it should be. I had to watch it twice to get a full appreciation of what happened.
Despite requiring a second viewing the story did indeed come together for me. I respect how it all fits together and that not everything is handed to me on a silver platter. I like having to put some thought into some of my movies as long as the movie is good enough to warrant the effort. What that all means is that if you like having everything spelled out for you this might become confusing. You can’t shut off your brain for this one so if that’s what you like in a movie you’ll be left unsatisfied.
Morality
A woman strips down to her underwear for a swim. That’s the closet thing there is to nudity. There is no sex or strong language. The violence is more grisly than most black-and-white movies involving blood and an impressively realistic beheading.
Spirituality
There is a suggestion that spirits of the dead haunt this world rather than traveling to an afterlife although there is also the suggestion that maybe there are mortal explanations for paranormal events.
There's something of a cautionary tale here about building your world around human beings be it a child or someone else. Which is not to say that the tragic loss of a child shouldn't be traumatic, but by pinning our entire being on someone who is mortal and fallible we open ourselves up to defeat when the person or their life tufails to fulfill our utopian ideal. If our foundation is built first on an unfailing God then we have a platform of strength when the tragedies and disappointments of the world beat us down.
Final Thoughts
This is more chilling and less campy than most old horror flicks. I do see some negatives in it, and the last few scenes could have been clearer with a better follow up. Overall, it's worth seeing if you enjoy older horror movies, but it doesn't make it to my list of absolute favorites from the era.
Buying Guide
"Dementia 13" is a common movie to find in cheap multi-movie packs. Marketers like to throw the A-list director’s name around to sell their stuff resulting in a dementia-inducing number of releases to consider. That's why you have me.
Believe it or not this got the Blu treatment which is sold by itself and in a 2 pack with The Terror. It's also listed in the Ultimate Shockfest Blu collection.
Time for the DVD's. There is a Roan and an AFA Entertainment release that are both widescreen. There's an unspecified release that has some extras. There's an Amazon Exclusive version that is remastered. And there is a 3D version. You can also find it in numerous multi-packs, but the only one I saw that really stands out is the Movieology Shockfest Sixties Collection.
I will compare 2 multi-pack versions and a remastered Digiview DVD in my detailed portion below, but first a few more notes on the other versions available.
The Blu mentions 5.1 surround sound, a high-def transfer, and offers a DVD copy as well. The quality sounds like it is improved from past transfers with less trash and grain but still nothing fantastic. It doesn't sound like the surround sound does much for the dated audio, either. Extras listed are a trailer, a movie art postcard, and a restoration comparison.
The Blu milti-pack isn't this improved transfer or anything HD. It just uses the data capactiy of Blu-ray to hold more movies.
The Roan DVD sounds like a good one with a widescreen presentation (though it's so close to 1.33 that it's almost not even noticeable according to reviews) and better than average but still imperfect quality. Extras mentioned are a commentary, a trailer, and some other unspecified offerings. The price is so astronomical, though, that I don't recommend worrying about it.
The other widescreen version from AFA Entertainment says it is formatted for 16x9 screens. It does not mention remastering, and I could find no comments on the quality. It appears to be offered in a package variation with “Happy Birthday” and some flowers on it. Don't look at me like that, I'm not making it up! If it weren't as expensive as it is I'd buy it just for the sheer oddity of it.
The Amazon Exclusive mentions remastering but gives no other details, not even the aspect ratio. I found no comments on the quality. There are a few others that mention remastering as well, but they likewise give so few product details that I don't feel like they are worth the time spent hunting down the info.
Details on the 3D version are slim, but keep in mind that this was not originally a 3D movie. There is no indication of glasses being provided with your purchase.
I saw mention of some extras with one of my inquiries, but when I went back to note the details I couldn't find it again. So somewhere out there is something with at least a few minor goodies.
The Movieology Shockfest Sixties Collection offers 6 movies and is a widescreen collection. "Dementia 13" is specifically noted to be remastered in 1.78 widescreen for this set. However, the one informative review I read said that the quality is really weak. The price is so ridiculously high that unless this was pristine condition and could serve me dinner when I sat down for my movie it's not deserving of a second glance.
Beyond that all other releases list the 1.33 full-frame ratio and the mono sound with most not mentioning remastering or other extras.
Final Recommendation:
Ultimately even compared to the digitally remastered version (detailed below), I find the 50 Horror Classics transfer to be superior even though it's still far from impressive. The 20 Chilling pack version is not even really worth the time if you have access to any other. The Digiview disc is tolerable if you're not interested in getting a multi-pack. For the best quality go for the Blu+DVD combo or the Roan release. Those are your best bet for extras as well although you shouldn't expect much. Other than that you're probably better off just going with the best bargain you happen to find.
This solo DVD is the Digiview digitally remastered DVD.
Video
1.33:
The image is shaky, wavy, dark, and grainy with plenty of trash. It's generally just an unclear picture for something that is supposedly remastered.
Audio
2.0 stereo:
The audio sounds more like a 2.0 mono than true stereo, but that's what the package specs list. It has some white noise and pronounced pops here and there; the mix is weak with overstated high frequencies.
Packaging
It has a simple thin plastic case.
The interface features some animation and a distorted score loop.
Extras
-Also Available (2:50) This is just a presentation of short clips of other movies available put to a company score.
The Horror Classics 50 pack is next on my comparison menu.
Video
1.33:
The image has some trash – not too bad at times, pretty bad at other times. It can be pixelated and a bit fuzzy. This one is brighter than others I've seen which can be a positive for seeing the details of a shot but which also shows off the trash that's present. The others copies are trashy as well so it's not that big of a tradeoff. The image shifts a tad but not nearly as bad as the others do.
Audio
2.0 mono:
The sound has a few minor pops and is rather thin but has little to no persistent white noise. The dialogue could be clearer at times but is not horrible. This version is superior to the others I've seen if only just barely so.
Packaging
This particular disc is housed in a cardboard sleeve contained in a Velcro-fastened box. Later versions are repackaged in plastic.
Extras
There are none.
Next up is the 20 pack known as Chilling.
Video
1.33:
The image shifts around annoyingly – it's bad enough to make this hard to watch. In addition, it's a bit too dark which seems to be a common issue with most transfers, it has a good bit of trash, and it's grainy and pixelated.
Audio
2.0 mono:
There is a bit of a hum and perhaps some mild distortion.
Packaging
The disc comes in a paper sleeve that lives in a plastic case.
Extras
No extras for this one, either.