Dementia 13

The movie starts with the mention it's based on a previous movie by Francis Ford Coppola. That should already have been a warning for me as I can't imagine they will do a better job than Coppola. And what's the point of making movies that are already have been done before if it's not to better them? To be honest I didn't watch the Coppola movie and I probably won't as this version is just not a good publicity for the other movie. The story is weak, not interesting, boring, and most of the time just doesn't make much sense. The horror parts are most of the time laughable. But the worst thing about Dementia 13 is the acting, that's just bad, mediocre at best. Just don't waste your time on this one.

Members of a family coalesce at their secluded stone manor in upstate New York to commemorate the passing of one member sixteen years prior, but the grim gathering is hindered by a masked madman with an axe, a couple of lowlife thugs and... a haunting!

"Dementia 13" (2017) is a remake of the 1963 original by Francis Ford Coppola, which was basically a low-rent knock-off of "Psycho" (1960) produced by Roger Corman. That said, it wasn't an exact imitation and had enough to distinguish it; the original upped the ante in the slasher genre, which was in its infancy at the time, and obviously influenced movies in the soon-to-come slasher boom of the late 70s-80s.

Thankfully, this version of "Dementia 13" is all-around better and in living COLOR. There are enough changes in the plot/characters to keep things fresh and interesting. It also eliminates confusing elements of the original, like the two bodies of water that weren't properly delineated. And, although 8 minutes longer, the film's still streamlined and doesn't overstay its welcome.

Yet the first half is superior to the second half, which is highlighted by the eerie introduction to the castle-like manor, the establishment of the characters and their story, as well as the stunning Ana Isabelle as Louise. Unfortunately, her part is rather small, but Channing Pickett (Rose) and Marianne Noscheze (Billie) are okay on the female front. Meanwhile Julia Campanelli is effective as the mentally dubious matriarch.

The situation speeds-up in the second half and the twists & turns are sometimes awkward, similar to the somewhat contrived & clumsy second half of "Psycho II" (1983). Still, the movie improves on Coppola's original and there's enough good here if you're in the mode for a flick that combines two horror genres: slasher and haunted house.

The film runs 1 hour, 23 minutes and was shot in upstate New York.

GRADE: B/B-

I can't compare this remake of Francis Ford Coppola's 1963 horror film because I haven't seen the original. In this movie, a family gathers at the isolated Castle Haloran to attend a ceremony commemorating the death of 6-year-old Kathleen, the youngest family member from a drowning many years before. It isn't long before the murders, mayhem, and madness will begin and I was intrigued enough to wonder what the heck was going on here and why.

Although the dialogue and acting can be of B-movie quality and the film can certainly be weird and bizarre at times, there was enough here to keep up my interest throughout and I certainly have seen worse.

Failed by its special effects, the remake falls short when it comes to giving the ghost and the axe guy a main stake in the story. The problem of wealthy families is a trove for stories - but visually this one didn't make the cut.

Saw 'Dementia 13', being fond of horror/thriller regardless of budget (even if not my favourite genre) and being intrigued somewhat by the idea. Being behind on my film watching and reviewing, with a long to watch and review list that keeps getting longer, it took me a while to get round to watching and reviewing it.

Giving 'Dementia 13' a fair chance with being interest and apprehension, it turned out to be far better than expected. Won't say that 'Dementia 13' is a great film because it isn't and the potential, while not wasted, is not fully lived up to. Considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre and less and wasting potential, was expecting worse and was relieved that while wanting in a fair few areas it was actually one of my better recent low-budget viewings.

'Dementia 13' started off quite well, the first twenty minutes or so starting the film off on a promising, unsettling and atmospheric note that really does intrigue.

Production values did have some eeriness and nowhere near as cheap as expected, and the music, which not the most memorable in the world, didn't detract from the atmosphere.

The setting is effectively spooky. There are spooky and suspenseful moments and it isn't dull. The direction doesn't feel phoned in and the storytelling in some of the first half does intrigue.

However, the story was severely wanting in the second half after starting off promisingly. It is very disjointed and after the promising start the final third especially loses atmosphere, one loses interest and things start to not make sense and gets increasingly jumbled. Too much of the film is vague and doesn't explore some elements and story strands enough, some dropped soon after being introduced, go nowhere or serve much point.

Ending is unsatisfying, on top of feeling hasty there are too many loose ends hanging in the air. Got the sense that the writers didn't know how to end the film. Would have liked much more tension and suspense, scares could have been more consistent and some weren't surprising enough.

Found too the script to lack natural flow and with a bit of cheese going on, and the characters bland with some adopting some annoying and not always logical decision making. The support acting especially (the leads had their moments) is even more problematic than the second half's storytelling, at best it was poor and too often terrible.

Overall, lacklustre but not a waste. 4/10 Bethany Cox