Dementia 13

Dir: Francis Ford Coppola

1963

****

Before Dementia 13 Francis Ford Coppola had directed a couple of 'nudie' films and worked on other films in various different roles. Like many of Hollywood's greats, Coppola got his first big break working for the legendary Roger Corman. Coppola had just finished working on Corman's The Young Racers (1963) and found out that $22,000 of the budget was left over. He says he approached Corman and Corman claims it was his idea, but either way it was agreed that Coppola could make a quick cheap film using the remaining budget and the film's cast and crew, as well as some of the locations. Coppola came up with a brief script in just a few hours which was given the all clear by Corman. Elements of the story were changed while filming and both men argued over the story's themes. The two would never agree on the final cut of the film and Corman brought in the now legendary director Jack Hill to film subsequent footage to bulk the film out a bit.  The fact that the young director arranged an additional $20,000 in financing himself by pre-selling the European rights to producer Raymond Stross had to hurt Corman. Coppola did not inform Corman of the production's additional funding and quickly moved the initial $22,000 into a bank account in case an angry Corman ever attempted to reclaim his original investment. I think that says a lot about Coppola and the differences between him and Corman. Corman is famous for giving young film makers opportunities, I understand Coppola's determination but it was somewhat ungrateful of him to pull a fast one like that. However, even though both men have grievances about the finished article, I think it’s an impressive thriller. Corman described it as a Psycho style copy, and he's correct, but there is a lot more to it. There is an element of Hitchcock about it and it is a bit Giallo in places (before Giallo was Giallo) and was clearly an influence on films such as Night of the Living Dead and Spider-Baby and various exploitation films. It's got a killer Rockabilly theme too, which gives it that particular cult following feel. For a low-budget horror it's exemplary, beautifully shot and actually really well written. The film stars William Campbell, a cult favourite and famous for his appearance in the 'The Trouble With Tribbles' episode in the original series of Star Trek, as well as Corman regulars Luana Anders and Patrick Magee who would both go on to work in some of the best alternative films of the 60s and 70s. Dementia 13 was the film that made Francis Ford Coppola the director he is today, his talent is clear as daylight and he learned how to play the system to his advantage. It's a great little cult horror, hugely influential and it has dated rather well too.