John Chard
October 15, 2019
8
Feverish Hybrid!
Dementia is written and directed by John Parker. It stars Adrienne Barrett, Bruno VeSota, Ben Roseman and Angelo Rossitto. Music is by George Antheil and Ernest Gold and cinematography by William C. Thompson.
Dementia is a dialogue free picture that charts a young woman's night time journey through the seedy city. She may be a psychotic murderer? Will her journey reveal all?
Made in 1953 but not getting a release till 1955, Dementia is a wonderfully weird one of a kind experience. It should be noted that there are two versions of it, it was recut with an added narration and titled "Daughter of Horror", Dementia is the original cut. It is an hour of feverish film, awash with expressionistic touches and noir imagery, it's obviously cheaply made but it looks terrific.
From the moment "The Gamine" (Barrett) awakes in a hotel room, startled, there's an off kilter vibe going on. We will, in her company, see an act of police brutality played out in shadow form. Be spun off in a vortex to a turbulent cemetery sequence, meet weird men with hats and nylons over their faces. There's a lecherous slob, who gets grotesque close ups as he munches his chicken dinner, sexual subtexts are unbound (hello cigar and piano porn!), while the backstory reveal of our lady antagonist is itself haunting.
Dementia greatly troubled the censors, so much so it suffered cuts and numerous submissions, thankfully now of course it can be seen untouched. The themes of adultery, police corruption, prostitution, drugs and implied incest ensure it's a potent hour of film, made all the more eerie by the no dialogue concept. Antheil's musical score is suitably ethereal, only halted by a cramped night club scene that sees "Shorty Rogers and His Giants" perform a sparky
jazz combination in readiness for another otherwordly scene - the key one in fact.
It's a love it or hate it movie, a tricky one to recommend with confidence. But once viewed it will not be forgotten, and not to only be remembered as the film that was playing on screen at the drive-in theatre when "The Blob" attacked in 1958!. It's a quirky and unsettling hybrid movie, one that deserves its cult classic status. 8/10
