Dementia 13

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.

I was in the mood for a horror movie last night. Having seen virtually everything in the Netflix horror category, seeing this pop up in my Netflix feed was a welcome surprise. The first 20 minutes or so provided an interesting diversion. However things went downhill after that. When the twist appeared at about the 2/3 mark, the movie lost all credibility. By that point, I thought I simply must sit through the remaining half hour to see how this train wreck ends. The actors, all of them unknown to me, did a fine enough job with the material they had to work with. That said, in the hands of a different director whose vision was to do a parody of a supernatural drama, this movie could have worked. Unfortunately, the director would have the viewer regard this as serious drama. It is not. Trust me. You can find better ways to pass 90 minutes of your time than watch Dementia 13. What the hell does the title have to do with anything in the movie anyway?

This was picked by my wife and I gotta say, Not really bad. Believe me, I've seen MUCH worse. It's from Universal pictures and as soon as I saw that, I was relieved. This was twisted enough to keep my interest throughout the movie. I am puzzled why IMDB only gave it a 4.3. My wife guessed a 5.8, where I guessed a 6.2. It's a little game we play after seeing a movie. Really shocked my the low rating. I found it interesting and it was a supernatural/slasher whodunit kinda movie. I was impressed and it was well worth the $4.28 I spent to watch it. I highly recommend it to anyone who looks at it for an entertaining movie to watch. P.S. Don't listen to the critics. THEY SUCK. Peace.

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.

This independent film is a really great remake, I liked it better than the original. Its got a little bit of everything a horror movie fan wants. Its part slasher/axe murderer film. Part haunted house/ghost story film. Except the haunted house is a castle so thats cool. And of course it has a demented old lady in it. It also has a feuding wealthy family. Deception and betrayal. Robbery. And a couple twists at the end and a very good ending. Not worth the bad reviews. Definitely worth a watch.

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 went in expecting another attempt at a horror movie made garbage. Well nothing scary what so ever about this, but what I did like is how they put a slasher and supernatural togeather. This movie could have been a master peice if they actually took the time to do both genres good. Instead it was to faced paced which in its self isn't bad, but in the end I wanted more and they didn't deliver.

I cannot comment on the original 1963 because i have not seen it. But this one was very good having supernatural elements, an axe killer running lose, and a good twist at the end. In a world where most remake are awful this one delivered the goods.

Gathered together at their family house, a group of individuals intending to celebrate a family tragedy learn that not only as their world been thrown for a loop by a sudden revelation but a ravenous killer as well as a pair of thieves arrive which complicates their survival. For the most part, this here wasn't all that bad of a remake. A lot of the fun here comes from the rather intriguing storyline here featuring the different backstage deceits and traditions of the family. Right at the beginning, we get the idea of their personal tragedies starting with the need to celebrate the accident yet also in the different setups for showcasing her as starting to become concerned about her intentions regarding their future which manages to readily upset the group.that doesn't take into account their own personal agendas which range from the backstabbing to the faithful that really gives this the kind of setup which gives the later horror scenes a nice charge. Those are surprisingly enjoyable, from the opening boat brawl to the later chase through the woods and the farmhouse ambush which signals the start of the home invasion where the robbers and the killer arrive to bring about more fun. Detailing the haunted house as well as their battles against the two different outside forces inside and outside the house, this has some enjoyable elements at play here to give this enough to lift it up over it's few minor flaws. The biggest issue here is the fact that the films' multiple storylines seem completely at odds with everything else around it, giving this the feeling of being incredibly scattered and chaotic for so short a running time. This works incredibly well with the backstabbing family members and the masked killer, yet when the film introduces ghostly hauntings, revenge, a character coming back from the dead for no reason and a group of kidnappers together with these elements it makes for a truly wild blend of activity that renders much of what happens too rushed to really care. That also reduces the fear and impact of the killer who has some fun scenes but doesn't have the full-scale sense of dread he could've had this one allowed for a more robust amount of time to get going as being reduced in screen-time definitely hurts him. As well, the darkness present in much of the finale affects this significantly as it's sometimes impossible to make out what's happening as there's just not much a chance of seeing anything. Along with the lame twist and the killers' motivation, these here bring it down. Rated R: Graphic Language and Violence.

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