Category: Name That Trauma!

Hello again

Awhile back kindertrauma helped my find a childhood trauma called MYSTERY MANSION, I have another one that is more recent that has me completely stumped.

I was about 8 or 9 at the time so around 1995, 1996 I think. I remember a man at home alone and I think some of the lights went off he came to a room in the house and saw someone standing there that spoke to him in a high pitched creepy voice that reminds me of the movie MILO. The man is chased through the house and is stabbed to death. I remember the man jerking on his feet with each stab and screaming then I think he fell through some glass.

The only other part I remember is a girl is nailed to a chair and a man is pulling the nails out. I think the girl was thought to be a guy named Richie throughout the movie and her real name is Rose, I think. The killer had her dressed as the boy Richie for some reason. I think the girl shoots the killer after he calls her Richie and she says my name is Rose and kills him. Anyone know if I'm remembering two separate movies or if this is one in the same?

Thanks,

— Amy

UPDATE: NAME THAT TRAUMA SOLVED! Thanks to horrormommy for solving it with COLOR OF NIGHT!

Hi!

I've been holding onto these for too long because they aren't exactly horror-movie-type traumas; they range from artsy dramas to crime thrillers from the '40s, but they all have something in common: they all disturbed the hell out of me at some point (as a child or as an adult), and Googling accomplishes nothing. I hope you can help!

Thanks in advance,

—
Grokenstein

1. Made in South Africa? Dysfunctional black family moves into a suburban neighborhood. At one point, Mother is excited by dresses given to her by a clueless but well-meaning white lady neighbor. Angry daughter, offended by this "charity," throws the dresses in a metal drum in the backyard and sets them afire; Mother tries to save the dresses and gets burned. (White lady is watching from her window, horrified.) Daughter is pregnant, perhaps through rape; has baby then kills it by deliberately dropping it on floor. Father and Mother decide to move. Father goes to retrieve the family's life savings, but on the way home runs into "old friends" and comes home hours late, having gambled it all away. Mother yells at him. He slaps her. They pick up their few remaining possessions and start walking. THE depressing END. Late '80s or early '90s.

2. Two men scuffle in the off-limits area of some sort of large indoor aquarium, and one ends up being drowned. There is a wide shot from the inside of the aquarium in which we see the drowning man's face screaming soundlessly at the top of the shot as a fish watches from a respectful distance. After the deed is done, the killer rolls the body into the tank with a big splash. Quite probably '40s or '50s.

3. Spy thriller? Mystery? Go-Go dancer meets her boyfriend, who is (unbeknown to her) a killer looking to set up the hero. Boyfriend knocks out/kills dancer with a karate chop (!) and throws her down some stairs. The hero finds the dead dancer just in time for the dancer's co-worker to show up. Thinking the hero did it, she flees back to her room with him in pursuit. She pulls a gun on him and they struggle while he tries to explain. The gun goes off. The co-worker slides to the ground, fatally shot. As she dies, she whispers, "Explain this." Definitely '60s.

4. Euro-drama about a nanny/governess who bonds with a wealthy woman's young daughter, to the increasing dismay of the girl's emotionally-disturbed mother. The mother eventually fires the nanny to reclaim her role. The distraught little girl tells Mother that she will never love her. Mom responds by taking the girl's doll and wrapping it in plastic. The hysterical girl screams that "(doll's name)" won't be able to breathe. Nevertheless, Mom puts the doll (still wrapped in plastic) away out of the crying girl's reach. Cut to the nanny, walking away from the home with her bags; she narrates for a little bit (some soothing nonsense about how things eventually got better) and then the credits roll. Late '80s/early '90s again.

Hello comrades!

I have always thought about writing you guys about this certain movie I saw when I was probably ten or so (I'm 29 now) that really weirded me out. I've Googled until my hands have bled and asked numerous people everywhere, even via my blog if they know what the eff I'm talking about but NO LUCK! I'm beginning to think I dreamed this up…but I know I haven't!

So here it is…

It was this movie where a man was locked up in some kind of room for observation. He skin was stitched up of all kinds of different shades, sort of like a Patchwork Man (which is what I always thought this movie might be called but my research has come up with NUTHIN'.) If I remember correctly he was supposed to be "the answer to racism." I think he was screaming or crying in this mental hospital looking environment.

That's all I remember! I hope you guys can help put my mind at ease after ALL THESE YEARS!!

— Marie

UPDATE: NAME THAT TRAUMA SOLVED! Unk has this one sewn up with MR. STITCH!

UNK SEZ:: In Kindertrauma's mail bag we discovered a letter from one of our favorite people, JOHN KENNETH MUIR of the excellent REFLECTIONS ON FILM/TV, check it out:

Dear Unk,

I recently received this intriguing reader e-mail at my blog, and frankly I'm stumped. It's from Frank and reads:

"I wonder if you could solve one of the great mysteries of my life. About 1978, I saw the scariest show I've ever seen. I was 14, and the next day I asked if anyone had seen it.

No one had, although one guy had said that his brother had seen it and that he had told him his hands had been shaking the whole time. So had mine. It was on CBS at 10:00 Eastern time on a Friday night and I never heard of another episode being shown here in Miami.

I'm pretty sure the name was THE NEXT STEP BEYOND. I read your interview with JOHN NEWLAND. He didn't seem to have much good to say about this series. It begins with a man telling how he had died and been brought back, but now had a connection with the dead who sometimes sent him to help their survivors. He finds his way to an isolated cabin (on an island?) and, I believe with the help of a diary, figures out how the scientist who lived there came to a violent end from a man he had created out of tar. It then comes after him. Does this ring a bell for you? I've looked up synopses and never come across this one, although it's been a while since I really gave it a good shot and certainly more and more information is come out on the net. That's how I found your site. I've only seen two of the original ONE STEP BEYOND's. They were on a video CD. One was with CHARLES BRONSON as a boxer. They were great.

I'd sure love to know if what I saw was indeed The Next Step Beyond, and if there was any way to see it again. I've even thought about making a pilgrimage to NY to check out the Museum of Television and Radio to see if I could find it, or at a least reference to it.

Thanks for any help you can give.

— Frank…"

Anyway, does that sound familiar to you, Unkle Lancifer? There is a NEXT STEP BEYOND episode entitled "The Return of Cary De Witt" (September 13, 1978) set on an island, involving a man coming back from the dead following surgery…and astral projecting. But nothing about a Tar man, or helping other survivors. And the show aired in syndication, I believe, not on CBS.

So if you can, please help Frank and me figure out what the heck this was. I've ruled out, I think, QUINN MARTIN's TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED (1977) and GHOST STORY/CIRCLE OF FEAR (1972) and THE EVIL TOUCH (1973) as well. All too early for Frank's remembrance; and no synopses appear to fit on first blush.

Thank you,

John Kenneth Muir

UNK SEZ: Thank you JKM! I'm happy to say that I actually do know this one on account of we've gotten a Traumafession on it BEFORE. It's gotta be the THE WORLD BEYOND/ THE MUD MONSTER from 1978 starring GRANVILLE VAN DUSEN and POLTERGEIST's JO BETH WILLIAMS. As soon as I learned about this frequent traumatizer I had to track it down and you can find my full review of it HERE!

I found it pretty darn effective and had no problem understanding why it left such an impression on folks. Thanks for sending Frank's inquiry to us JKM and all you other folks out there make sure you drop by REFLECTIONS ON FILM/TV!

Dear Kindertrauma,

While I saw the film I'm inquiring about around the ripe old age of 23 (I'm 31 now – sigh), it does involve kids getting terrorized and therefore I believe it qualifies for a KT Name That Trauma. I caught the film on the IFC channel one lonely evening in the dead of winter, and for the life of me I cannot remember the name even though it returns to my thoughts at least once a year and gnaws at my brain like a rat gobbling rotting cheese.

I believe that I caught it from about halfway through, and am not positive about whether it was a standalone film or part of an anthology or original T.V. series, but it seemed long enough to be a movie. I really can't even describe the plot fully, so I just have some images/scenes that I remember, but they were powerful and indelible enough to encourage me to write to you guys for help.

Hopefully this jogs someone's memory: I remember two kids in a hospital, a little girl and boy aged 8-10, and the girl had the paranormal psychic ability to pull the little boy into her dreams. It was within this dream realm that much of the disturbing imagery I remember resided. Within the dream world there was a solitary house on a grassy hill near cliffs bordering an ocean. The kids were being terrorized by an evil man (possibly the little girl's stepfather or something) who had a very deep, sinister voice and I believe his eyes were gouged out and he was chasing the kids with a hammer. He was one of the creepier villains I've seen.

The atmosphere in the dream was bright and sunny until this man approached and the sky turned black and the house appeared broken down and barren. The girl at one point runs outside and the ground begins to shake and break apart, almost as if there was a volcano underneath or something. The final thing I remember was that the little boy was killed in the dream, and when the little girl woke up in the hospital, he had died in reality too.

It might sound ridiculous and I know I haven't given much to go on, but even the crude recollections I have of this film creep me out to this day and I would cherish the opportunity to find it and see it again.

Thanks in advance for you and your readers' help.

— Chris

UNK SEZ: Great description Chris! We actually have gotten a traumafession on that one BEFORE. That has got to be and I'm NOT wrong this time I swear, 1988's PAPERHOUSE! That kindertraumatic classic was directed by the same kind fellow who brought us all CANDYMAN, BERNARD ROSE! Mr. ROSE, we at Kindertrauma love you big time, please make some more movies!

Love your site!,

Here is a movie that haunted my childhood. I'm actually not even sure if it was a horror movie, but one scene scared the pants off of a younger me.

I want to say it was a made-for-T.V. movie in the mid-to-late 1970s as I remember seeing it on more than a few times and always during primetime. It involved two brothers. Both around 8 to11 years old. One was a mute, or maybe retarded? I know something was wrong with him mentally. The other brother, the normal one, loved Spider-Man. Their room was decorated with Spider-Man posters and toys. In particular a Mego Spider-Man. The mentally challenged brother was frightened of Spider-man. So much so he took his brother's Mego Spider-Man and cooked it in the oven.

The smoke alarms went off and the mother ran to the stove. When they pulled out the horribly charred Spider-Man figure from the oven, the normal brother freaked out screaming. And the Mego Spider-Man, it was so disgusting and burnt, that image scared the webbing out of me as a kid.

Does anyone know this movie? It's been driving me nuts for over 30 years.

Thanks Kindertrauma,

— Doug from Ohio

UNK SEZ: I went a' Google-sluethin' and I found your burnt Spider-Man movie! It's called …AND YOUR NAME IS JONAH (1979), a T.V.- movie starring SALLY STRUTHERS and JAMES WOODS. Don't feel bad about not remembering what Jonah's issue was, his parents had a hard time figuring it out as well. Although diagnosed as mentally challenged, we find out through the course of the movie that Jonah is in actuality deaf. I also noticed in the IMDb message board that you are not alone in having a strong memory of the Spider-Man burning incident!

…AND YOUR NAME IS JONAH is not on DVD but you can watch it over at Amazon, Hulu or Netflix streaming. Thanks for coming to us with your Name That Trauma Doug!

Hi Kindertrauma,

I was wondering if you could help me find the name of the very first horror movie my brother and I saw as very young kids, hiding behind the couch while our babysitter watched this movie. We were born in the '80s, and what I can remember of this movie it seemed like an '80s flick, but it may have been from late '70s too.

The plot I recall was some creepy dude living in the basement of a department store who would kidnap women and turn then into mannequins. However, I have seen clips from TOURIST TRAP, MANIAC, and even the MANNEQUIN movie with KIM CATTRALL and none of these seem like it, the movie definitely had a department store connection, many mannequins, and was scary as hell (at least, to a 6-year-old).

This has been bothering us for more than 20 years, so if anyone could help us out that would be great.

Thanks!

Beth

UNK SEZ: Beth, I think I know this one! In fact, it was a Name That Trauma of my own once (check the comments section HERE!) Luckily our stalwart kinderpal Mickster was able to track this short film down. It's called LIVING DOLLS and it seems to have been used often as filler between shows in the early days of cable. You may not believe this… but unlike the last time I looked for this film on YouTube, this time I found it!

I just watched it myself and I think it's even creepier than I remembered. More frightening still, as the film ends, it is followed by an episode of MY SISTER SAM which I've decided is proof that not only does the Devil exist, but he also truly does enjoy manifesting in the form of JENNY O'HARA. Yikes and yikes! Watch below…

UPDATE: Reader Beth emailed this:

Sorry for the delay in response; I have been waiting for my brother's opinion, and unfortunately the conclusion is that we're not sure if this is it. There is something familiar about it (and as a side note I do agree heartily that HD is not good for horror films), however what I recall of the plot was that the man was the villain and was actually turning live women into mannequins. But I may just be remembering incorrectly. Sorry I couldn't give you a definite yes or no about Unk's kind contribution to my question.

Thanks so much!

Beth

I remember seeing a movie when I was a kid, possibly from the early-to-mid '80s, and there's only one scene I remember. In it, a man finds his childhood teddy bear. He decides to do what any normal person would do, and takes a nap with said bear. While he is sleeping, the bear grows either claws or fangs (it's been a long time so I'm not sure which) and kills him.

It had quite the effect on me, even to this day. I've been trying for quite some time now to figure out what this movie is and I'm not having any luck.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much!!

— Amy

Dear Kindertrauma,

This is a movie that keeps coming to my mind from time to time and I hope someone will recognize it. I saw it on T.V. sometime in the early-mid '90s, but I really can't remember if it was old or new movie at the time.

There's only one scene I can remember and I think it was the ending of the movie: A man is lying in bed scooping his own eyes out with a spoon. I think there was a dead woman lying next to him and he had killed her before. I don't know if I remember correctly but I think it was his eyes that somehow made him kill her. I keep running into a movie called THE HEADLESS EYES (1971) but judging by the scenes I've seen, I don't think it's the one I'm thinking of.

Maybe someone could name another movie with some eye scooping in it?

Thanks!

— Heidi