Review of Dementia

Dementia (1955)
9/10
you have never seen anything like this before
31 May 2001
This is one of the best and most intelligent films ever--although I don't think I'll be seeing it again anytime soon. I have never been so assaulted emotionally, psychologically, and intellectually by a movie. If you are looking for a fun and scary horror movie--this is NOT what you are looking for. This film is very disturbing. It is not gory, or overly graphic, just disturbing. The aesthetics of the film stretch back to early German Expressionism to 70s psychedelia. It is a bizarre mix of many things, most of which work perfectly. As you watch it, it's very easy to start judging the movie and go "Oh God, it's doing this or that". There are definately times when the movie borders on badness. But it is always one step ahead of itself, and one step ahead of you, and one step ahead of any other movie I have ever seen. The things the director does are amazing--he does things that were so ahead of his time.

The portrait of the main character is amazing. I've never felt so close to a character who completely freaked me out, as I did to her. She is SCARY--and so human in a wierd way. And that's why this movie was so good. It is not a black and white horror movie. It's not a slasher flick. It is definately trying to tell you something. Whether the final message is feminist or sexist is up for debate. This film is so well done that it's hard to tell whether it's being purposeful or exploitative. It's pointless to write more. You just have to see it.
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