DEMENTIA PART II Review – A Film Experiment About Losing Your Mind
Directed by Mike Testin and Matt Mercer
Written by Mike Testin and Matt Mercer
Starring Suzanne Voss, Matt Mercer, Najarra Townsend, Graham Skipper
Starting as a friendly bar bet between producers JD Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, Dementia Part II was conceived as a dare. Could you make a midnight movie from scratch in just 30 days? The answer, apparently, is yes. A loose sequel to Mike Testin’s 2015 film, writer-director Matt Mercer (Contracted, Beyond the Gates) jumped on board with a few friends in tow to physically shoot the movie in a matter of days. The frenzied pace comes through and there’s a fun, manic energy buzzing about – but the result is a mixed bag. The funniest part about Dementia Part II might be the fact that it’s about an old woman with a peculiar form of memory loss that isn’t particularly memorable.
The small, makeshift team behind this filmmaking experiment weren’t setting out to make the Citizen Kane of midnight movies. They just wanted to have fun making a movie with their friends and see what they could pull off with such a quick turnaround. It’s an onerous feat that they certainly achieved. But even star Graham Skipper (Almost Human, Sequence Break) has made it clear that this was an exercise in the experimental. Everyone involved is probably surprised and a little shocked that their tiny collaboration is now in theaters and hitting VOD and DVD on June 1st.
Also Read: Exclusive Interview: Graham Skipper Talks Disturbing DEMENTIA PART II
Diving into the setup here, Wendell (Mercer) is an ex-con making ends meet as a handyman. His overbearing parole officer (Skipper) is breathing down his neck. So, Wendell agrees to help Suzanne (Voss), a sickly older woman who keeps giving him pointless tasks to do around her house. Looking to find any excuse to race out the front door, Wendell teams up with Suzanne’s daughter, Sheila (Townsend), to escape a seemingly never ending day that just keeps getting weirder.
The increasingly strange interactions between Wendell and Suzanne are off putting enough to keep things interesting for the first act or so. There’s an inherent fear of the elderly that creeps in, especially when Suzanne starts to get a little flirty. Because of the warp speed shooting schedule, Voss has the most on her plate compared to the other actors – and she goes for it. Getting grosser and more unhinged, Voss almost makes Suzanne’s crazed behavior truly scary in some scenes. She’s the planet that the other performers orbit around and when she finally explodes, there are some definite shockwaves. Her dedication just isn’t enough to carry Dementia Part II across the finish line.
For such a short running time, there are actually a fair amount of gore gags and the make up work for Suzanne is subtle but effective. A sequel in-name-only, another element to this filmmaking dare is shooting the film entirely in black and white. So, when the blood does hit the screen, you won’t get any red on you. For a supposed midnight movie that’s been compared to Sam Raimi’s splatstick style, that’s a little disappointing. Lynch’s legendary B&W experimental film Eraserhead was a late night smash on the midnight movie circuit in the late seventies, so that could be the connection.
For a midnight movie to resonate, maybe it needs a good marketing push, too. Dark Star Pictures certainly delivered on that front, joining up with Bloody Disgusting to host a virtual weekender where Dementia Part II premiered as a Secret Screening. It might night be a very good midnighter, but it is a perfect secret screening: You’re most likely going be disappointed when they reveal the title and all that speculating goes sway. More of a successful exercise in breakneck filmmaking than a passion project, this talented group of actors, writers and directors have had their fun. Now, it’s time to look forward to what they’re brewing up next.
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Dementia Part II
Summary
For those of you thinking about competing in a 48 Hour filmmaking contest, Mike Testin and Matt Mercer just provided you with a black and white blueprint on how to make a horror movie on the fly.
