Dementer (2019) User Reviews

Well, nah, that's a swing and a miss...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 5 March 2021]

I was lured in to watching the 2019 movie "Dementer" after having stumbled upon it and read the synopsis. I must admit that the synopsis definitely sold the movie quite well, and I was lead to believe that this movie could be something rather enjoyable.

Well, it was something alright. Enjoyable though? Hardly so. The storyline in the movie was just too slow paced and cluttered, feeling often like writer and director Chad Crawford Kinkle was just making up things as the filming progressed. I felt like the movie was lacking an overall red thread throughout the course of the movie, something to tie it all together.

Given the swing and a miss of a storyline, then the movie just didn't have as much appeal, entertainment value or offered as much enjoyment as I had hoped it would after having been spellbound by the synopsis.

The acting in the movie was adequate, though I can't really claim to say that the performances were outstanding in any way. At least none of the actresses or actors stood out as being more remarkable than others.

I gave up on the movie with about 15 minutes left before it ended. At that point I was just good and ready to claw my own eyes out. Up until that point I had been tempted to just call it quits twice along the way. But I opted to stick with the movie and hoping it would improve. It just never did.

"Dementer" is listed as a horror movie, which is also one of the reasons why I opted to sit down to watch it. Yeah, you might want to take that with an ounce of credibility. This movie was quite far from being a horror movie, it was - at best - perhaps a psychological thriller. But definitely not a horror movie.

My rating of Chad Crawford Kinkle's "Dementer" lands on a three out of ten stars. The movie just failed to impress or entertain me.

Special

[Stanlee107 · 4/10 · 7 March 2021]

Props to the team for hiring people with learning ability to make this seems more authentic. However, it is another case of missed opportunity. This thriller has the protagonist that suffers from past trauma from being in a cult & makes it her life's mission to help those in need. It goes down a very predictable path that never threatens to go off course or to surprise the viewer. The "unending music" is more annoying than suspenseful. This is not recommended for anyone that suffers from epilepsy as the flashing light scenes are numerous in this film & ending leaves you shaking your head in disbelief.

Storyline issues

[baphinda-43751 · 3/10 · 23 August 2021]

I love independant horror films, but or thez have great cinematography or they have amazing script/storyline. Sadly this film doesnt have neither.

It felt like a horror film made by students with very little cash. It was slow and the characters are not well developed. I liked the fact they used real scenarios but not related to the plot at all.

Remoded me of the surreal 70s experimental flicks, and i think they were going for that.

But it was too slow and no point at the end.

Cementer

[VivicaLee · 1/10 · 19 July 2022]

Right to the bottom of the ocean. A coma would be more interesting. I tried, God knows I tried to watch it. Couldn't do it All the chick was doing was having headaches and hearing voices. Ok then, I bailed.

It sucked

[dinobuncic · 1/10 · 2 May 2021]

Worst movie I have ever watched. No context, audio is terrible, i don't know what to say......

Good reviews for what reason exactly?

[alainavalentine · 3/10 · 25 August 2021]

Aside from loving and supporting the fact that the film features many disabled individuals, I thought the rest of what I was able to see of the film was bad in ways that are difficult to describe. From my understaning it wad an independent film and I went in with that in mind and tried to be understanding of the low budget. But the flashbacks were really cheesy the way they were edited. The score was the thump of either a drum or a bass guitar followed by what sounded like loose change jingling (which actually could have sounded pretty cool if there had just been some reverb added to it to make what the sounds were more ambiguous). I had a BIG problem with the voice of the man doing the countdown in a cheesy aouthern accent. And the words he said were equally cheesy. I was prepared to be terrified based on what an article listing best new horror films had to say about it. Instead I was so put off by the quality of the first quarter of it that I coulsnt bear to sit through another minute of it despite having payed 6 bucks to rent it and I never rent anything for that much for fear of being disappointed-ironically, like i was with Dementer. I am still interested in seeing how it plays out though, so if it ever becomes available on Netflix or something I'll put it on for some background entertainment while I'm putting away my clean laundry or something but until then, I'll just have to wonder if the film ever pulled itself together in the end.

Doesn't live up to the intriguing start ...

[parry_na · 5/10 · 19 November 2022]

This starts with an intriguing premise where an escapee from a dark cult tries to begin a new life as a carer. The people she cares for are played by members from special needs communities. We then get intermittent flashbacks and bloody entrails with added offal.

And that's about it really. The audience is led to believe things will happen and then they don't. There's no progression, no real explanation, just occasionally blood-soaked imagery.

As a series of set pieces, it creates a sense of jeopardy, but we're not given a tangible reason why. What we end up with is a production memorable for its obscure oddness. My score is 5 out of 10.

Don't look under the bed......

[FlashCallahan · 5/10 · 15 May 2024]

Katie flees a backwoods cult and takes a job at a care centre for special needs adults in her determination to do some good with her life.

But despite her best intentions, Katie can't escape the signs that "the devils" are coming for Stephanie, a woman with Down syndrome she cares for, who keeps getting sicker despite Katie's rituals to ward off evil spirits......

It's an interesting concept, that has been done a dozen times before, but here we are working with people with learning difficulties, which grabbed my attention from the get go.

But Plot Summary aside, there really is little going on here. The main lead is good in her role, but she is limited to looking a little shaken when she has flashbacks, being endearing to the people she is working with, and then trying to convince people that she isn't insane.

If the story was more focused on her trying to come to terms with her PTSD, rather than making it a showcase for people with learning difficulties (which is a little exploitative if I'm honest) then it could have been a great psychological drama, rather than a film where a woman puts cow parts under a bed, living in a car.

It's not terrible, it just maunders on, and you can just feel a great film trying to come out.

Not cookie cutter

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 4 March 2021]

Dementer has an intriguing premise: what if someone tried to escape a backwoods cult? How would they get past all the abuse? And how would they try to earn a living?

After fleeing one of those aforementioned religious groups, Katie (Katie Groshong), sleeps in her car and tries to make a living by working in a home for special needs adults. Her days are still filled with waking nightmares, remembering ritualistic attacks where she was whipped and beaten while a voice continually reminded her that "The Devils listen to the sound of the innocent."

She's convinced that those devils have targeted Stephanie (director Chad Crawford Kinkle's real-life sister, also named Stephanie), who is living with Down's Syndrome. Despite a series of rituals and even a sacrificed cat, Katie can't keep the feeling that evil and sickness want to claim this innocent soul for their own.

Larry Fessenden, whose career has seen him act, direct (Wendigo) and produce (House of the Devil) plays a man who still has a hold on our protagonist. Is she able to see reality in the right light? Is she meant to be the child's protector? Is she even qualified to do so?

In a world where representation is often discussed and not always acted on, this is a brave movie. Director Chad Crawford Kinkle has built the film around his sister Stephanie, saying that he has "gone to great lengths to create a bold genre film that embraces and properly represents the developmentally disabled, while still being both thrilling and disturbing. The result is a singular, deeply personal independent feature unlike any before it."

In fact, it had been in the works a long time. Kinkle said, A year ago, my mother mentioned that she had a dream that I made a film with my sister Stephanie, who has Down Syndrome. I don't think that I told her, but for a few years now I've had the idea of building a horror film around my sister."

As for what he made, he sees it as more than just another movie: "The resulting film is something that I've never seen before. While certainly a horror film, it needed another description like; experimental, abstract, dream-like, nightmarish or even art house. What seemed best is that it is more of a dark poem, since much of the script was written on intuition and not traditional story logic."

There's a lot of thought that went into filming this as well, as it has a look and feel, unlike so many recently released genre films that just seem to point and shoot the camera. The opening moments, which juxtapose children's drawings with moments of sheer terror and the dreamy world of the special needs home are jarring.

I'm looking forward to what everyone involved in this film does next.

Cat is killed

[columbusbuck · 1/10 · 23 February 2024]

This movie has a scene where the "protagonist" butchers a sweet innocent cat. I stopped it right there and then. I don't care how good a movie is, killing an innocent cat is never entertaining.

Other than that how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln? Well let me tell you. Pedestrian acting, terrible writing, shoddy cinematography, and directing malpractice are all here. If that is what you're looking for, and you like a side of pet slaughter with it, then you've found your heart's desire.

Me? I am spending my limited free time watching something else.

P. S. Deep shame on Thrillist for listing this in their Top Ten of the year's best horror movies.

Intriguing and well-made

[scottyorrwhat · 9/10 · 4 March 2021]

This film had great organic performances by the cast that felt really natural despite the unnatural subtext/plot. An interesting dichotomy that was both visually appealing and seamlessly edited.