Dementia

Verdict: Value for Money

Pinoy Rebyu Score: 3.25 (18 ratings)

Genre: Suspense, Drama

Director: Percival Intalan

Writers: Renei Dimla, Jun Lana

Cast: Nora Aunor, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Bing Loyzaga, Chynna Ortaleza, Yul Servo, Althea Vega, Jeric Gonzales, Lou Veloso, Lui Manansala

Synopsis: Rachel (Jasmine Curtis-Smith) and her parents Elaine and Rommel (Bing Loyzaga and Yul Servo) move back to the Philippines from the US to help take care of her aunt Mara (Nora Aunor), who is suffering from Dementia. They bring her to their old family home in Batanes, hoping that the familiar surroundings will help with her ailment. And living in the house does unearth a few old memories, but they bring with them strange apparitions and terrible consequences for Mara and her family. (Click the City)

MTRCB rating: PG

Running time: 100 mins

Trailer: 

Reviews:

4.0         Arvin Mendoza (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

“Dementia is heart-wrenching poetry in picture. Its visual verses beguile the senses to absorb the character’s prosaic state, rhymed with its aural rhythms lulling the terror that looms ahead.” (Read full review)

4.0         Eric Cabahug (InterAksyon)

“Dementia is that rare Filipino horror drama that packs a solid emotional wallop. You won’t forget it soon after leaving the theater. A lot of it has to do with debuting filmmaker Perci Intalan’s mostly firm grip on his material and his relatively sophisticated approach in presenting it.” (Read full review)

4.0         Lyndon Maburaot (Table Stretcher)

“Perci Intalan is precise down to the dot, his achievement here are his pacing and control of the material, so unbelievable for a first-time helmer. His sensibility is obviously mainstream, giving in to the demands of the genre: banshee, jump scare, dolls. But it is during his quieter scenes that he shows ability, the deftness is in the way he blocks a scene and how he positions the camera with regards to the characters.” (Read full review)

4.0         Fred Hawson (Fred Said)

“Dementia does not have the garish and noisy shock effects that we see in most mainstream Filipino horror films. Instead, its unnerving quietness which effectively communicates a sense of danger, on top of the compelling lead performance of Ms. Nora Aunor, gives this film high marks of cinematic excellence.” (Read full review)

4.0         Macky Macarayan (The FilmSoc Report)

“Cinematographer Mackie Galvez (Sana Dati) captures the visual tone that complements the story’s demands, and levels with the acting caliber of Nora Aunor.” (Read full review)

4.0         A Moot Point

“A rarity in Pinoy horror genre, Dementia stays away from blood & hysterics, instead, it capitalizes on the gothic setting & tension. Nora Aunor blows us away with her mesmerizing non-verbal performances, that we pardon the average plot  – something that the usual nitpicking critic will tear apart if it wasn’t for Aunor’s superb acting and Intalan’s impressive direction.” (Read full review)

3.5         Oggs Cruz (Rappler)

“Dementia has a lot of breathing space, a lot of protracted moments for thought and pondering. This is clearly a thinking man’s horror film.” (Read full review)

3.5         Rob San Miguel (Brun Philippines)

“Similar to Joel Lamangan’s Hustisya, Aunor is burdened by a thin script so she has to make do with trite lines spoken in between her quite moments. Fortunately, Intalan was smart enough to focus the camera on Aunor near the climax of the film.” (Read full review)

3.5         Armando dela Cruz (Film Police)

“Dementia is a thing of curious alchemy…It is not a story strictly about the haunted, but of fractured psyches and corrupted moralities.” (Read full review)

3.5         Irvin Malcolm Contreras (A Girl and a Gun)

“It is essentially a pretty rote, standard horror film with all the familiar narrative beats. But this film benefits from the acting talent of one of the Philippines’ best actresses, Nora Aunor who gives the pulpy material its weight and substance. It is worth seeing for that alone (and for the travelogue-esque on-location cinematography).” (Read full review)

3.0         Philbert Dy (Click the City)

“The film is solid enough, with its handsome production work and talented cast keeping the film watchable through the narrative’s lack of cohesion. It’s just that there’s a nagging sense that there could have been more.” (Read full review)

3.0         Julia Allende (PEP)

“With its paper-thin storyline, the film relied mostly on surprises, on strategically placed apparitions to make the heart lurch and the ears reverberate with ghostly sound effects.” (Read full review)

3.0         Nood.ph

“Bilang manonood, hindi ka magsa-suffer sa panonood ng Dementia dahil ang haba nito ay akma sa takbo ng kwento. Malinis ang pagkakakwento ng mga pangyayari, hindi ka iiwang hanging sa kahit anong punto.” (Read full review)

3.0         John Tawasil (Present Confusion)

“Dementia is an okay film that I recommend seeing more than once, just to see the nuances in Nora Aunor’s acting after the revelation at the end. As a horror film it is pretty run of the mill, but as a psychological film it is quite effective.” (Read full review)

2.5         Tito Genova Valiente (Business Mirror)

“Nora Aunor as Mara is not served at all by the cinematography. The long minutes of Mara in the isolation of the landscape fail to capture the delineation of an actor who is able to sublimate all kinds of theatricality to serve an intense recipe of homegrown guilt and hurt. The story is promising; could it have been the screenplay that neglected to honor the presence of a great actor?” (Read full review)

2.5         Renelson Morelos (Ramblings of a Film Urchin)

“Dementia could have been better than it is. Intalan knows how to sway viewers into a ‘false’ belief by creating mood and tension in accordance with the horror genre. It’s in how the ‘trick’ is finally let out of the bag, something that is inappropriately downplayed rather than packed with a visceral whallop, that douses cold water over the previously fever-pitch proceedings.” (Read full review)

2.0         Urbantribe.ph

“If you’re looking for a ‘scary movie,’ it is a bit difficult to recommend Dementia. It has a strong cast, lovely cinematography, and notable sound design, but it just lacks the punch.” (Read full review)

1.5         Cathy Peña (Make Me Blush)

“Effective horror plays to our psyche, not bullyrag our auditory senses. And a story teller creates an atmosphere of impending doom. Lesser equipped film makers resort, on the other hand, to cheaper artifice, by creating ‘sudden noises’ – the ones that actually break eardrums!” (Read full review)