I am very disappointed with this film, First off although I got this film for free, lie I do with most of the films I review, I must say that it had me fooled with the great box cover and the clever looking snapshots that grace the back of it. I mean dam! I give the guys who made this film four stars in the marketing dept. Because the DVD cover is a real eye catcher. However, what I got when I popped this sucker into my DVD player was a cheap digital picture and a film annoying editing and very bad production value.
The story of Dementia is pretty simple. Two guys get kidnapped, by a cross dressing tattooed guy who transforming himself into a women, kind of like Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs or serial killer Ed Gein. However this guy does not kill women and skin them, he is becoming one though hormone treatments and a sex change operation or so we’re lead to believe. One of the guys he kidnaps is an employee of his whom he’s seems to have fallen in love with. And well I guess in a rage, this guy, who wants to be a women decides to kidnap and torture him and his friend for three weeks in an attempt to make him realize that they are meant to be or some shit. TO be honest I really stopped paying attention after a while.
The script is over drawn with to much dialogue and not enough action. Now I’m not saying that the dialogue was bad, because in fact in that aspect of the script it was written very well, however the story more or less was being explained to us more than it was being shown though action. I personally had a hard time with this because I honest felt like the film was going no where and was simply dragging. When a film drags, I’m the one who like a kid waiting to use the toilet, if you don’t let me in the bathroom, I’m going to piss all over the floor. There was such a build up in each scene but you never got the real kick in the ass feel of terror that you thought you were going to get. The back cover of the DVD compares this film to the likes of Saw or Hostel, however what those films had that Dementia does not is better timing between scenes, and they both build tension and deliver. This films does not. I also didn’t find it to be the least bit scary. I mean seriously folks how many times can we watch two guys get hit in the head with a sledge hammer. Sure it worked well in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre which this film solely pays tribute to, but it worked with TCSM, but it was original back then, I’m not saying it can’t be now, but better timing editing and not over killing the use of the sledgehammer might of in the least bit been effective. Another thing I noticed is the ripped Evil Dead poster in the back round. How many indie films are going to do this? It worked well when Sam Raimi did it with a Hills Have Eyes poster. But come on, Evil Dead was in fact an over the top effective film. This film is just like every other indie film out there. And shooting on DV. I hate to say it but it makes movies look like bad television soap operas.
To rate the acting in this film I’d have to say there is two different sides of the coin, on one hand it’s really bad, and on the other hand it’s alright. It’s kind of a pick and chose between who’s doing a good job acting and who is pretty much just trying to act. It does not need explaining folks, if you decide to watch the film you’ll be able to tell who effective and who’s just trying to hard. As far as production value goes, well let’s put it this way. Take all your furniture out of your bedroom, mess the walls up a bit, put a chair in the middle of the room, throw a ripped up Evil Dead poster on your wall along with some of your grandmother confections from her scrape book and some Halloween declarations and bam you got yourself the set of this films. However the farm house scene at the end which was a total rip out of TCSM is a pretty decent looking location. And for the most part is host to the best scene of this film. The make-up effects were your basic low budget horror film effects. Nothing special. They were not bad, but nothing over the top good either.
Overall, Dementia was a film I had put on the top of my list to watch, I even put it ahead of a lot of other screeners that I need to review, and well I wish I left it at the bottom of the pile. I really thought it was going to be a great controversial film, one that I was going to be flawed by the violence and gore. And, well I didn’t even get grossed out or jump out of my seat. It’s a good effort, but not good enough to get me to like it. I think the script needed some much needed editing and the pacing was way off. However my hats off to the filmmakers for the great marketing of this film. I hope next time they make a picture they get a little bit more of a budget and are able to get a good solid script. There is talent here, don’t get me wrong folks, this is a first ditch effort. But the talent need to be bought out first.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
