“Dementia 13” is a remake of a Francis Ford Coppola movie from the ’60s. While I hadn’t heard of the original, I can safely advise you to skip out on this new version. Heralded as a great indie horror, “Dementia 13” comes from the twisted minds of Dan DeFilippo and Justin Smith (look out!). Its set in the confines of a remote castle-like estate, but the pleasing aesthetics are the last thing the film does well.
“13” jumps right into the story, as we open with a woman passed out on the floor amidst a grisly and unexpected murder. The plot is such a convoluted mess of characters and story lines, it does no good to even attempt an explanation or synopsis. Wikipedia’s entire description of the movie reads one sentence in length; “The plot revolves around a vengeful ghost, a mysterious killer, and a family in a night of terror at a secluded estate.” Wow.
To simplify, just accept that there’s gold digging focused on the Haloran family who owns the massive estate, thuggish burglars, and paranormal happenings that are anything but subtle. Dolls. Killers with axes. Foggy grounds. They may has well of tossed Michael Myers in for good measure.
An ax scares a character
The cast is made up of a gaggle of unknowns, fronted by two distractingly beautiful actresses – Channing Pickett and Ana Isabelle. Julia Campanelli plays the family matriarch Gloria Haloran. She’s malfunctioning mentally, supposedly getting worse with her condition, having conversations with herself and carrying around a doll. Also appearing, a nerdy husband, a hippie boyfriend, a ditzy daughter, a mysterious handyman, and a pair of common thieves.
What ruins “Dementia 13” is its confusing lack of focus. We know there are paranormal happenings, capitalized by voices, shadows, random giggling, and sinister dolls which are always a plus. But there’s the inclusion of outlandish and head-scratching real life antagonists that add nothing to the story except questions and a stockpiled body count. The score is bad and out of place and the individual scenes don’t add up to a cohesive unit.
This is a bad movie that offers little in the way of scares or enjoyment.
