Wordiezett So much average

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Platypuschow I watched the remake first, that's a bit a** backwards and I don't usually but I wasn't blown away. I considered it messy and rushed.I had high hopes for this original, being Francis Ford Coppola's directorial debut and the fact I've heard it's name uttered many times over the years.Sadly though the remake is quite different this hardly impressed me either, in fact I'd say the remake is better (And that's something I rarely say).It all looks perfectly neat and the performances are better than you'd normally expect from an early sixties movie but the story is still messy.Honestly I don't know what the hell they were doing when they made the remake as the two are very very different films, and truth be told neither are worth folks time.The Good:Looks good for a movie of its timeStrong performancesThe Bad:Messy plotThings I Learnt From This Movie:Willbe is one wordAn axe is standard issue with windup monkey toys

Leofwine_draca This is an impressive black and white film in the classic late '50s gimmicky tradition. The poster for this film proclaimed "Are you afraid of death by drowning? Have you ever attempted suicide? Have you ever thought of committing murder? These are some of the questions you will be asked in the unprecedented "D-13 Test" to prepare you for the horrifying experience of DEMENTIA 13. If you fail the test... you will be asked to leave the theatre!" This obvious copying of the "shock" gimmicks used in William Castle's films has nothing to really do with the film, which is an atmospheric thriller sparing little time for laughs (except those of the macabre variety).Director Francis Ford Coppola creates a very powerful and frightening film by using crisp black and white photography and including strangely surreal images prevalent throughout, such as the moving toys, or the drowning itself. The film is also produced by Roger Corman, which lends it a dubious distinction. The plot is complex and frequently twists, but basically keeps to the murder mystery genre (unknown killer, all the cast come under suspicion). The latter half of the film, which follows the usual (and occasionally tiresome) build up which introduces the characters, contains a string of axe murders which were extremely graphic for their time. So much so that this could be classed as an early 'slasher' film, coming decades before later classics like BLACK Christmas. The music is very memorable and spine chilling, almost like that of HALLOWEEN.The film also has some horrific images, such as the girl hanging on a hook (shades of THE Texas CHAIN SAW MASSACRE here). There's a gory decapitation, where the victim's head rolls into a pond. The acting is fairly good all round, from Luana Anders as a woman obsessed by greed, to the suspicious brothers. However, the best actor of the lot is Patrick Magee, who shines as the hard, initially unlikable doctor. He puts in a brilliant performance in what is an overlooked film in the genre, rarely seen or talked about, but certainly something of a minor classic. Seek it out if you're interested in seeing an early atmospheric chiller with some true moments of screen horror.

Rainey Dawn The movie is better than what some of the critics have to say about it. The film is definitely dark, creepy and demented. The morbidity is vivid in this overall dreary setting and story.Which one is the killer? This is the question on the film's poster. It's fun to play a guessing game when watching this movie. Hint: everyone is a bit off their rocker in this movie but there is only one killer. The flick is worth watching to find out the answer if you like mystery-horror stories.This is good "dark and stormy night" type of movie! You will not want to miss anything in this film so have everything ready before you start the film.8.5/10

grantss 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.