Dementia 13

Dementia 13 was directed by Francis Ford Coppola early in his career, serving as his first mainstream feature film. He was working for Roger Corman at the time, who allowed Coppola to use leftover sets from a previous production to shoot the movie. Coppola also wrote the screenplay, intending it to mimic the psychological thrillers of Alfred Hitchcock.

The plot revolves around a scheming woman who, after her husband dies of a heart attack, returns to his family's ancestral castle in Ireland to secure an inheritance. She attempts to ingratiate herself with the wealthy family, but a series of brutal axe murders begin to occur. The family is deeply tormented by the mysterious drowning of their youngest daughter, Kathleen, years prior.

Yes, Roger Corman produced the film through American International Pictures. Corman famously gave Coppola the directing opportunity but later brought in another director, Jack Hill, to shoot additional, more violent scenes. This was done because Corman felt Coppola's original cut was not frightening enough for horror audiences.

The film was distributed by American International Pictures in 1963. It was originally released as the bottom half of a double feature alongside another Corman production, X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes. Later, due to a failure to properly renew its copyright, the film fell into the public domain.