Stephen King Says This 62-Year-Old Francis Ford Coppola Horror Makes Psycho Look 'Tame'
This is one of the director's first works clearly inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock classic.
June 16th marks the 65th anniversary of the release of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, a film that is still considered the most important in the director's career.
Many filmmakers agree that Psycho was the forerunner of the slasher genre, predicting the future development of the industry and simply going down in history as one of the greatest horror films ever made.
Stephen King Prefers Dementia 13 to Psycho
However, the main master of horror of our time has a different opinion. Stephen King, in the introduction to his EW article criticizing Kill Bill, compared Psycho to Francis Ford Coppola's forgotten work, Dementia 13, and not in favor of the former:
“For mood, atmosphere, and plain old gut-churning horror, [Dementia] 13 makes Psycho and Night of the Living Dead look tame. Dementia 13 is a movie that matters.”
We're not saying Psycho isn't “a movie that matters,” but King's comment is a perfect reason to remember one of the early films made by one of the greatest directors of our time.
What Is Dementia 13 About?
In order to receive an inheritance from her husband's mother, Louise conceals his sudden death from a heart attack by dumping his body in a lake and making it look like he was on an urgent business trip.
Meanwhile, her husband's relatives gather at their castle for an annual ritual honoring the death of the younger sister, who drowned in a local pond as a child. Louise begins to court her mother-in-law and decides to use her painful grief over her dead daughter.
Dementia 13 Was One of Coppola's First Attempts at Directing
Francis Ford Coppola began his career as an apprentice to Roger Corman, a famous B-movies maker and author of cheap gothic horror films.
Dementia 13 is one of Coppola's first attempts at directing, filmed with money provided by Corman. This movie was clearly inspired by Psycho, made with money left over from another movie, on someone else's sets, with someone else's actors.
Francis Ford Coppola assisted Roger Corman in making the action movie The Wild Racers, and Corman allowed him to make Dementia 13 at the same time, using the set, equipment, crew, and actors, as long as it did not interfere with his own filming.
Dementia 13 Is a Worthy Choice for Fans of Old-School Horror
Coppola's ingenuity shines through in Dementia 13. With minimal resources and only in nine days, he created a suspenseful project using dynamic editing, sound design, and moody lighting.
While Dementia 13 is not Coppola's finest work, it is an important milestone in his career and a compelling horror film in its own right. For fans of classic horror or of Coppola's evolution as a director, Dementia 13 is still worth watching more than six decades later.
