Dementia (1955)

[bigshot]

I just got this new BFI restoration and screened it last night. What a remarkable film! I've been on the hunt for this movie since I first read about it in Psychotronic magazine long ago. I found a VHS of the narrated version ("Daughter of Horror"), but the print was so beat and the transfer was so dim, I could barely make out what was happening. This new restoration is a revelation.

The film is visually amazing... very much like a Hollywood version of German Expressionism. It resembles Eraserhead in many ways. The cinematography and lighting is really good... it's by Bill Thompson, the cameraman for Ed Wood, and he would have been working on this film at around the same time as Glen or Glenda. In fact there are a lot of similarities between this film and Wood's films. The opening credits are just like Plan 9 and there is a graveyard scene that may have had props that Ed Wood recycled for his film. The surreal montages are very much like Glen or Glenda too.

But that is where the similarities end. The acting in this film is fantastic. The villain reminds me of Emil Jannings and the lead actress does a great job of putting across her inner turmoil. It's very much like a silent film... well, exactly like a silent film, because there isn't a single line of dialogue in the whole film. There's some really affecting use of symbolism and the staging of the scenes, cutting, and transitions from sequence to sequence are inspired. It reminds me in a lot of ways of Orson Welles' films.

The film is made on a shoestring, using the back alleys of Hollywood. I'm sure it was made on a similar budget as Plan 9, but the impact of the film belies its low budget. The director tried to get it released with no luck. Apparently the censor board objected to the depictions of prostitution, rape and dismemberment. But in today's world, the way the film approaches these subjects actually seems respectable. There was just one screening in New York a few years after the film was completed, and it was sold off to the producer of The Blob to use as stock footage in the movie theater scene. He released it with awful narration by Ed McMahon but it still didn't get very wide release.

Personally, after finally getting a chance to see this film well transferred from an excellent print, I think this is one of the most important outsider films ever made. Had it been made in the 80s instead of the 50s, it would have been playing midnight shows just like Eraserhead.

The blu-ray includes a copy of the narrated version in mediocre quality, but there is no reason to watch that except for curiosity's sake. The transfer and sound are great. Perfect black levels and tons of detail. I definitely recommend it.