Demented isn’t just a film; it’s an experience, the kind you stumble into after a night of questionable choices, thinking, “Well, this can’t get any worse.” But oh, dear reader, it does. It’s not the type of movie you’d invite to your Sunday dinner. No, this is the kind of friend who shows up unannounced, reeking of cheap booze and bad decisions, telling tales so wild you’re not sure if you should laugh or call the cops.
Someone – let’s say it was either the ghost of Confucius or Helen Steiner Rice on a particularly bad day – once said there are no strangers, just friends we haven’t met yet. Well, if films were people, “Demented” would be that friend you meet once, under unfortunate circumstances, and immediately hope never comes back. Annoying, cheap, loony, offensive, obnoxious, flaky, and as boring as watching paint dry… yet so batshit insane that you’ve got a story to swap at the next bar crawl.
The film kicks off with a bang – or rather, a series of unfortunate events in a horse stable where Linda Rodgers (Sallee Young) gets the kind of welcome no one wants. Four guys with stockings over their heads decide she’s the entertainment for the evening. You’d expect the film to delve deep into the darkness of human nature, but no, it seems the filmmakers thought, “Hey, let’s do a low-rent version of a revenge flick.”
Enter Linda’s husband, Matt, played by the legend of adult cinema, Harry Reems. Here’s a man whose acting skills are as convincing as a three-dollar bill, proving once again that his true calling was in the less clothed arts. And Linda? Oh, Linda, portrayed by Sallee Young, whose performance swings from the melodramatic to the utterly absurd. Her voice, a shrill cacophony, could shatter glass – or your interest in the film.
The plot, if you can call it that, sees Linda returning from what they call a “sanatorium” – a place where I imagine they teach you how to look blankly into the camera while screaming. She’s back home, supposedly healing, but her hallucinations of her attackers and the neighborhood’s four new troublemakers decide to make her life a living hell. It’s like the script was written by someone who lost a bet.
This film tries to dance on the razor’s edge between horror and comedy but ends up doing a clumsy waltz into absurdity. The opening scene is brutal, sure, but the follow-up is so poorly executed that it’s like watching a clown at a funeral. The film stumbles through scenes with the grace of a drunken sailor, with Linda’s husband Matt, portrayed by Reems, being particularly unhelpful. He’s more interested in his mistress’s gold-digging antics than his wife’s recovery. His character, a doctor, is supposed to be the beacon of hope, but he’s as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
The neighborhood kids, in their infinite wisdom, decide to terrorize Linda further, wearing bizarre masks like they’re trying out for a low-budget version of “The Purge.” The terror they bring isn’t chilling; it’s more like watching a poorly rehearsed school play. Linda, left alone, starts seeing her attackers everywhere, blurring the lines between reality and her fractured psyche. These hallucinations are so unconvincing that you might start questioning your own sanity for watching this film.
The film’s climax, where Linda finally snaps, is meant to be shocking but ends up more amusing than horrifying, thanks to Young’s “crazy” voice, which sounds like she’s auditioning for a spot on “Gilligan’s Island.” She goes on a rampage, serving up some cold, not-so-bloody revenge with a side of steak and a dash of piano wire. It’s all so mishandled that you’re left wondering if the film was supposed to be a parody or just a very bad attempt at drama.
The pacing of “Demented” is like riding a rollercoaster designed by a mad scientist; it jerks you around, stops suddenly, and then plunges into the depths of incoherence. The cinematography? Well, it’s there. The editing feels like it was done by someone who just discovered how to use a pair of scissors. And don’t get me started on the special effects – or rather, the lack thereof. When Linda decides to get her revenge, the film pulls its punches, showing us nothing but implied violence, which in this context feels more like a cop-out than a stylistic choice.
Directed by Arthur Jeffreys, whose career seems to have ended with this cinematic debacle, and penned by Alex Rebar, “Demented” is a film that’s more memorable for its ineptitude than any real shock or horror. It’s the kind of movie you watch once, not for enjoyment but for the sheer spectacle of its failure. After that, you’re glad to see it return to the obscurity from whence it came, leaving you with nothing but a good story for the next time you’re out with friends who appreciate the art of the truly terrible.
This cinematic trainwreck is a testament to how low-budget and bad acting can turn a potentially serious subject into something laughably absurd. “Demented” doesn’t just spit on the grave of good filmmaking; it dances a jig on it, waving its arms wildly, completely oblivious to the art it’s supposed to represent. It’s a film that you’ll remember, not because it was good, but because it was so spectacularly awful that it becomes a benchmark for how not to make a movie.
“Demented” aims to be a tough revenge movie, but it mostly ends up being funny for all the wrong reasons. The acting is questionable, and the story is strange, making it more likely to make you laugh than feel scared. If you’re looking for real excitement or tension, this isn’t the film for you. It’s one of those movies where you can enjoy how badly it misses the mark. Because of this, it gets a skull rating of 💀 (1/5) – not really worth watching for horror fans.
