Dementia 13
(1963)
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Francis Ford Coppola's directorial debut is set in a spooky Irish castle where the family Haloran has gathered to memorialize the death of youngest sister Kathleen. Inheritance-seeking Louise Haloran (Luana Anders) is covering up the death of her husband John (Peter Read) from his mother Lady Haloran (Ethne Dunn), while other son Richard (William Campbell) and his fiancee Kane (Mary Mitchel) try in vain to plan their wedding. Third son Billy (Bart Patton) is tormented by nightmares of Kathleen's death. An axe murderer is haunting the grounds, and Kathleen's body shows up at just the wrong time. After Louise's disappearance, the family becomes suspicious of each other--as well as of the ghosts that haunt the castle. Then the sinister family doctor Justin Caleb (Patrick Magee) is called in to help with the mystery. Produced by Roger Corman, DEMENTIA 13's opening scene of Louise and John Haloran alone on a boat drifting nowhere (as an Elvis Presley song plays hauntingly) is reminiscent of many Hitchcock films. Coppola gave Corman his money's worth in this terror-filled tale of family ties chopped to pieces. |
A series of axe murders marks the anniversary of a little girl's drowning at an eerie Irish castle. This is a passable horror whodunnit, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, aged 24, on a $22,000 budget. The future leading light of Hollywood convinced Ireland's prestigious Abbey Players to appear for minimum wages, begged William Campbell and Patrick Magee to star and used the same sets as the Roger Corman production he was assisting on. Those sets give an atmospheric patina to proceedings, despite numerous continuity errors and poor production values. Nevertheless, a seminal minor classic with many recognisable traits soon to emerge in the master film-maker's blockbusters.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Nastily effective macabre piece with interesting credits.