I first heard of this when I stumbled upon reviews of the Kino double-feature DVD (more on this later) and was especially intrigued by the fact that legendary writer-director Preston Sturges was among its admirers. Then I caught the film itself via the Internet and liked it – albeit watched on a very tiny screen; however, it took me a number of years to purchase the "Special Edition" disc and only managed to re-acquaint myself with the movie in time for this Halloween marathon. DEMENTIA is not your typical horror film – a succession of nightmarish visuals blending noir, psychology, exploitation and outright surrealism (in fact, some of the images here admirably evoked that notorious Luis Bunuel/Salvador Dali collaboration UN CHIEN ANDALOU [1929]!); equally notable, though, is its depiction of the current jazz/beatnik scene highlighted by George Antheil's nerve-jangling score. The ultra low-budget involved (being an independent production photographed by William C. Thompson, later responsible for Edward D. Wood Jr.'s infamous PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE [1959]!) and the inexperience of writer-director John J. Parker (this proved to be his only completed film) gave the whole affair a unique combination of raw emotions and oneiric visuals that were augmented by the complete lack of dialogue (at least in its original intended form). Perhaps unsurprisingly, DEMENTIA encountered several censorship problems (delineated in the accompanying essay – the objections raised by the various boards are quite hilarious, none more so than when dubbing the film "grist for the Communist mill"! – which is the centerpiece of the DVD supplements) and would only find sizable distribution through Jack H. Harris in 1957
after the picture was slightly trimmed (eliminating its more gruesome passages), an over-the-top commentary (ghoulishly-voiced by Ed McMahon) added and retitled DAUGHTER OF HORROR! Trivia: this less satisfactory bastardized version was actually the Midnight 'Spook Show' being screened during the memorable climax of Harris' own best-known production, THE BLOB (1958; which I opted to revisit the very next day on its account), while some of the locations would recognizably serve as backdrop for Orson Welles' no less sleazy and expressionistic masterwork TOUCH OF EVIL (1958)!