"Don't ask what that title means – or whatever happened to the first 12 dementias. One is enough. A jittery family, including a greedy in-law, prowl around a Gothic estate in Ireland (where the picture was photographed), stalked by an ax-happy mystery swinger. And does he (or she) swing it! Under the stolid direction of Francis Coppola, who also wrote the script, the picture stresses gore rather than atmosphere, and all but buries a fairly workable plot."
The New York Times, October 24, 1963.

"When Luana Anders turns up to claim part of the family inheritance, she unlocks all the ghastly secrets in the family closet...unleashing an axe murderer. Death scenes are only moderately exciting and it's easy to figure out who the killer is. So few surprises are in store for the astute genre viewer."
John Stanley, Creature Features Movie Guide.

"Produced by Roger Corman, and evidently made under his presiding spirit, this runs briskly through one of those family reunion plots in which the challenge is to guess which of the seemingly benign members of the family is the mad axe-murderer who's steadily picking off the rest. The location (an Irish castle) is used imaginatively, the Gothic atmosphere is suitably potent, and there's a wonderfully sharp cameo from Patrick Magee as the family doctor."
Tony Rayns, TimeOut Film Guide.

"Shot in Ireland, the film, which has a clever Psycho [1960]-style plot twist, is reminiscent of the Hammer psycho films, where you try to figure out who is murdering the members of a family living in a large estate. Clearly a low budget production, Coppola achieves enough of a dynamic style with his limited lighting and locations to give the thriller an enduring popularity among film and horror enthusiasts. It is not a great work, but it is competently executed and consistently interesting."
Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review.

Dementia 13 is the work of a man who was still finding his way in the movies and was never meant to be great art. It is a small, nifty little exploitation thriller that contains moments of pure terror. Despite the hook of the ax murder, Coppola doesn't resort to the usual grindhouse tactics. He does try to make it more ambitious and interesting, and succeeds in avoiding the trap of dullness by maintaining a brisk pace that is crucial for a murder mystery. He also beautifully maintains suspense in crucial sequences."
Bill Treadway, DVD Up Close.

"The initial murder is a truly shocking and totally unexpected scene, as it occurs just at a moment when the initial story is starting to take shape, and you don't see it coming. There are other shocking scenes in the second half of the movie, but I don't find that half quite as engaging overall; it's almost as if the makers didn't really know what they wanted to do with the investigation rather than have another murder and a final revelation." Dave Sindelar, Scifilm.org.

Compiled by John M. Miller