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This movie is exemplifies so much of what makes a good low budget film. The plot is nothing complex but used to its fullest to explore one or two interest themes. The film is shot beautifully to both provide the emotional backbone to much of what is happening. A very good film that more people should see. I wish we had more like it. I would recommend this film to any fan of old horror movies, any general cinephile, or person looking to get into the movie industry. Overall a really good film.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
06/05/23
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Audience Member
Even if it had no sound, Dementia would make an excellent film filled with expressionistic motifs and otherworldly dreams. The tomato ranking on this is a travesty. This film is wayyyyyyyy ahead of its time.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/15/23
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Audience Member
An unusual experiment made during the last years of Hollywood film-noir, <i>Dementia</i> is an extremely dark combination of noir elements, deceitful characters, murder, guilt, horror and inner demons, all mixed into one nightmarish ride. It is a very ambitious project, maybe more than for its own sake, but this rare experiment - that even dared to mix a hint of the line that divides fantasy and reality - has an interesting premise and introduced elements that hadn't been portrayed before, such as constructing a potentially silent film with no dialogue whatsoever, an omniscient narrator that accentuates the dark aura for the audience and can dwell into the protagonist's mind, and faceless characters that function more like lurking shadows assaulting the supposed "madness" of a treacherous woman.
Pros and cons evaluated, <i>Dementia</i> aka <i>Daughter of Horror</i> offers an almost hallucinatory ride with interesting sequences and a climax difficult to forget.
73/100
Note: There is a version circulating that omits the voiceover/narration, consisting only on very few sound effects, music and the laughter of the characters. This is my preferred version because, given the almost supernatural experience that this is, the work is left to the viewer, resulting in a more chilling and involving "silent" experience.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/22/23
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Audience Member
The narration may sound hammy with it's drawn-out, overly-enunciated words, but I did enjoy it. The first words uttered "You.... you out there.... Do you know what horror is?", voice over the slow build up of its musical score, full darkness before it shows the view of the street and the room, actually made me smile with nostalgia. This is what I love about old horror films: it has a campy feel to it and yet it's more solid than modern-day horror movies (or most movies for that matter). Nowadays, you don't hear these words anymore....
"Come with me into the tormented, haunted, half-lit night of the insane. This is my world. Let me lead you into it. Let me take you into the mind of a woman who is mad. You may not recognize some things in this world, and the faces will look strange to you. For this is a place where there is no love, no hope...in the pulsing, throbbing world of the insane mind, where only nightmares are real, nightmares of the Daughter of Horror!"
The cast is perfect. Each of them gives of a sinister feel to the movie, from a leering expression to every smirk or eye acting - perfect. Adrienne Barrett as The Gamin is really commendable. Even without the narration (which I would really love to see, I just can't find a copy), her portrayal of a disturbed or demented young woman is amazing. The camera angles and the play on shadow & light also gave her smirking face a very chilling sinister, sadistic look.
The musical score is the main reason why I wasn't bored at all. It's like a rollercoaster ride while seeing the equally rollercoaster ride of a story & visuals. It plays with your senses. Its dynamics parallels that what you're currently seeing. The crescendo and diminuendo constantly interchanges along with the continuously alternating play of light and dark photography and the sudden shifts of the psychotic mind of The Gamin played very well on each scenes. It keeps your heart racing and your focus never waning when one moment you hear the soft haunting sensuality of the music, then next thing you know, the same score becomes a shade creepier and puts you in a mind-altering, almost psychedelic mood.
It's true that the narration cheapened the movie a bit, but it's not reason enough for one not to watch this film. Sometimes I find it annoying to hear the narrator and his cheesy lines, but there are also times when what he's saying gives a more noir flavor to the scene, and I love it. The underrated, obscure status of this cult classic astounds me as this is one of the most entertaining, highly experimental "silent movie" I've seen. It may not be as sophisticated as other highly acclaimed movies of the same genre, but it sure has it's own interesting style. The weirdness is like a rich chocolate cake that beckons to you and urges you to just wanna indulge. So what are you waiting for? C'mon, take a bite. =D
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/14/23
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Audience Member
A film without dialogue or sound about a young woman's nightmarish murderous night. This film is quite a mysterious experience. From the lack of sound to the decision of director John Parker not to credit himself, this film falls right between exploitation and experimental, and is quite an original cinematic experience, with some surprisingly meticulous photography and mise en scene. While the original film is delightfully unclassifiable, a re-release called Daughter of Horror with a cheesy narration exist, but ruins the very nature of the film and must be avoided at all costs.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/24/23
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Audience Member
I think the movie looked great, but the story was lacking. They said she had drug induced visions, yet I never seen her take drugs. She did smoke a lot. I'm not sure what she was smoking, but they looked like regular cigarettes.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/23/23
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