Dementia: Part II is a 2018 American comedy horror film written, produced, edited and directed by Matt Mercer and Mike Testin (Dementia). The movie stars Matt Mercer (Contracted; Bliss; Beyond the Gates), Graham Skipper (VFW; Sequence Break; Almost Human), Suzanne Voss (The Lords of Salem) and Najarra Townsend (The Stylist; Contracted).
Plot:
Suzanne wasn’t always this confused. She wasn’t always dead either – When an ex-con takes a job as a handyman for an unstable elderly woman to avoid a parole violation, it becomes a choice he may regret…
Reviews:
“Dementia Part II pushes the boundaries of taste, providing plenty of nail-biting, stomach-churning, and riotously funny scenes throughout its brief 86-minute running time. It’s one of the most fun – and at times hilariously uncomfortable – movie-watching experiences this reviewer has had this year.” Gruesome Magazine
“The opening scene sets the mood for Dementia Part 2. That scene promises gross comedy, and it delivers. Along with lines that you are laughing at, there are moments when your stomach will churn because you know what’s going to happen next. All of this is delivered in black and white, which serves the film well.” Guild Master Gaming
“Over the course of my years as a writer I’ve seen many gore-packed features and have developed a very strong stomach. Yet Dementia: Part II, a film in black and white, had be gagging and reaching for the sick bucket. The film isn’t littered with gore or gross-out moments, but the few that there are, are incredibly effective.” The Hollywood News
“With an off-the-wall aesthetic and the matching weirdo vibe, two exceptionally strong lead performances and the successful mix of competing tones – Dementia Part II is a winner.” Horrorfreak News
“Dementia Part II was made on a shoestring budget in a matter of weeks – and it feels it, from the scrabbled-together character motivations to the rushed, awkward performances (Suzanne Voss aside, who is excellent). But for its enthusiasm and its ballsiness, it’s an inspiration, and is worth it for the hilariously grotesque final act alone. It’s a confused, screeching gross mess, but we love it all the same.” Horror Talk
“Voss, who was in Demented in a less demented role, is a long-time bit player (The Lords of Salem, Contracted: Phase II) and bites into this meaty lead as if it were the part she’d been awaiting all her career – it’s down to her that Suzanne isn’t just a grim joke on a par with the leads of Rabid Grannies, and the old woman’s romantic inclinations aren’t simply ridiculous.’ The Kim Newman Web Site
“The portrayal of an elderly mentally ill woman is completely tasteless, as befits the style of movie, but at the same time remains sympathetic to her plight and never resorts to mocking her. It helps that the movie is clearly pitched as an absurd comedy with slapstick violence, so can’t be taken too seriously.” Movie Ramblings
“Everything about this film is on-point and offers a good look into how to successfully create a great midnight movie with limited time and funds. It really shows what Mercer and Testin are capable of, providing their audience with a unique story that’s garnished with comedic gold and vomit-inducing sequences. I highly recommend checking this out…” Nightmarish Conjurings
“Dementia Part II join the ranks of Don Coscarelli’s Bubba Ho-Tep, Keith Wright’s Harold’s Going Stiff and Adrián García Bogliano’s Late Phases as a genre film whose real source of anxiety is senescence itself, with all of the inexorable, creeping mortality which that implies. Getting there, though, is a bloody barrel of laughs.” SciFi Now
” …more of a black comedy with a solid dose of gore near the end than a true gross-out. Dementia: Part II is still a funny film, you just have to temper your expectations on just how gross it gets. If you can do that, and have a taste for dark humor, you should love this.” Voices from the Balcony
Choice dialogue:
Sheila: “Are you some sort of granny sniffer?”
Release:
Dementia: Part II premiered at the Arrow Video FrightFest in London on 25th August 2018.
In the USA, Dark Star Pictures and Bloody Disgusting plan to release the film theatrically on May 21, 2021, and on VOD, Digital HD and DVD on June 1st 2021.
Cast and characters:
Suzanne Voss … Suzanne Goldblum
Matt Mercer … Wendell
Najarra Townsend … Sheila
Graham Skipper … Reggie
Technical details:
66 minutes
Trailer:
MOVIES & MANIA round-up review and rating:
Dementia Part II feels like an extended short and even at just 66 minutes, it drags. Suzanne Voss overacts as if she was in Troma’s 1988 released Rabid Grannies and everyone else might as well be in a film student production.
The much-heralded gore is very brief and hardly compensates for the inexplicable hype it has engendered from some easily impressed reviewers. Meanwhile, there is simply no stylistic benefit for it being in black and white.
