Review of Dementia 13 (1963) by Grant S — 05 Aug 2014
Only for Francis Ford Coppola fans.
Not a great movie. Francis Ford Coppola's 5th movie as director, and he clearly had not reached anywhere near the heights of his craft yet. The fact that the movie is produced by Roger Corman, the king of B-grade schlock/horror gives more away than the fact that Coppola is writer/director.
Plot is weak and haphazard and the pacing is uneven. Cinematography is quite bad. Shooting in black-and-white might be the ideal way to film a crime-thriller, but any advantage in mood is entirely negated by the poor picture, especially texture, quality.
Audio quality is appalling. There is a constant hum during the entire movie. Not often one even notices audio quality, and this was particularly irritating.
Performances are mostly decent. A few over-actors but nothing too bad.
On the plus side, there is a decent feeling of suspense and "whodunnit?". Coppola manages to sustain an air of mystery about the characters, despite the uneven pacing.
Only worth watching if, like me, you're a Francis Ford Coppola fan and feel compelled to watch all his movies.
This review of Dementia 13 (1963) was written by Grant S on 05 Aug 2014.
Dementia 13 has generally received mixed reviews.
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