Dementia 13

Most of the reviews here center on this being good solely because it was a beginning of sorts for Francis Ford Coppola, well maybe I exaggerate slightly, but the film really should be seen as an entity un to itself. It really is quite good. The story centers on a disfunctional family in a large Irish castle that had tragedy befall them six years ago when the youngest daughter died by drowning, Since then the father has died and the mother has become obsessed with the death of her only daughter Kathleen, and she has her sons and herself attend a mock funeral every year as a kind of memorial. Thrown into the picture are a fortune-hunting daughter-in-law and a strange, cryptic doctor(wonderfully played by the very underrated Patrick Magee). The film has some great scenes and is very high on atmosphere. Despite being made on a shoestring budget(although actually filmed in Ireland and around a real Irish castle), the film transcends its limited resources and becomes a series of atmospheric shocks. The death scenes are well-directed, particularly the two involving Luana Anders. The score by Corman regular Ronald Stein is also first-rate. A great film to watch late at night.