kindertrauma

It's a Horror to Know You: Unkle Lancifer

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Hey, I put a mini questionnaire together that I'm hoping that many of you will take part in. That's the title up there "It's a Horror to Know You." To provide an example I will now fill out the inaugural questionnaire myself (cracks knuckles)…

It's a Horror to Know You: Unkle Lancifer of Kindertrauma!

(I know, you're already here but if someone else filled this out than this is where I'd link to their blog or website. If their name was Bianca Butters and they just wrote a book called Hell Flea, then it would say; It's a Horror to Know You: Bianca Butters author of Hell Flea! And I'd link to the official Hell Flea page.)

1. What is the first film that ever scared you?

My first experience with real terror was thanks to the T.V. movie "Satan's Triangle." I also distinctly recall being freaked out by Marjoe Gortner in "Earthquake" and catching a few too many moments of "The Omen" on cable while at a friend's house.

2. What is the last film that scared you?

"Martyrs" threw me for a loop, the ending of "Eden Lake" felt like a pile of cinder blocks falling on my head and the opening credits of "Irreversible" made me want to run out of the movie theater before the film even started.

(Those questions could have been answered with singular movie titles but I'm feeling gabby.)

3. Name three Horror movies that you believe are underrated.

1. "Blood and Lace" (1971) I say all slasher movies owe this one a beer!

2. "Brotherhood of Satan" (1971) Hokey but brilliant with a super eerie vibe.

3. Dear Dead Delilah (1972) So unique, atmospheric and ahead of its time gore-happy!

Honorable mention: "The Perfume of the Lady in Black" (1974). Oh, and "Pin" (1988)! "Pin" is so great and I should remember to say so more often.

(Notice how I threw in "honorable mentions" to squeeze in extra picks? Another great trick if you want to do that is to declare a tie between two movies!)

4. Name three horror movies that you enjoy against your better judgment.

(We're talking about guilty pleasures here but I refuse to use that term because you should never feel guilty about enjoying a movie.)

1. "Cathy's Curse" (1977) Because it hurts my head and is a fascinating mess.

2. "Shriek of the Mutilated" I'm sort of in love with the monster.

3. "Black Christmas" (remake) I have a thing for Christmas horror movies and this one rises further up my favorites list with each passing year. I never said I was deep.

5. Send us to five places on the Internet! (Include the URLs!)

1. Fascination With Fear. Where the quietest and loudest horrors collide!

2. Too Much Horror Fiction. I can look at horror paperback covers all day.

3. Freddy in Space. Unmatched horror enthusiasm by the truckload.

4. Horror Digest. Andre sees with fresh eyes and never fails to crack me up.

5. Dinner with Max Jenke. Because Jeff Allard rules.

So that's it! That was simple! Hopefully we've learned a little about this person (who is in this case, me), have gained a few movie titles that we might investigate further and have some websites to explore. Nothing wrong with all that! If you'd like to play along you don't have to have a blog or anything to pimp, you can just answer these questions and we'll post your responses. If you do have something to promote just remember to tell us about it!

Also, if you should get tagged in that last question, please don't feel you have to play along if you don't want to. This is just about gathering info from those who want to participate. All those who are game just answer the five questions and send the results to Kindertrauma@gmail.com. I promise it will be borderline fun if you do and remember, it's a horror to know you too!

NOTE: The questions sans answers are in the comments section for easy copying!

Name That Trauma :: Reader Scott R. on a Possessed Passenger Plane

Posted on By aunt john

Hiya. Long time reader.

I can not remember from where or whence this vision implanted upon my mind.

A jet is flying a long trip, perhaps overseas. Some sort of demonic or witchcraft force has taken over the flight passenger compartment. There is a hole in the floor of the passenger isle. Badness exudes from the hole. The passengers toss on a baby toy doll as a sacrifice. No good. It is the flight to hell.

I think it was a made-for-TV movie.

I can still picture badness bubbling up from that hole in the floor.

What say you?

Thanks,

— Scott R.

UNK SEZ: No problem Scott R.! That is most certainly THE HORROR AT 37,000 FEET which stars, among many others, the incomparable WILLIAM SHATNER! How can you go wrong with a made-for-TV movie involving vengeful Druid spirits on a plane!? Check out our ancient review HERE and the spectacular and SHAT-tacular clip below!

The Cabin in the Woods: A Second Opinion by Chris Moore.

Posted on By Kinderpal Chris Moore

UNK SEZ: I've been telling anyone who will listen and some who won't that I think CABIN IN THE WOODS is a must see. I know a few folks though who not only did not care for the film but hated it passionately! How could it be? One such person is kinderpal Chris Moore (who I tend to agree with especially when he's singing the praises of MATILDA). I asked Chris if he would write up a post sharing his thoughts on CABIN and he graciously agreed and boy are the gloves off! Take it away Chris! We'll always have MATILDA!

I'm always championing the underdog. Most of my favorites films are those that were bombs, critically loathed, or simply just came out at the wrong time. To put it into perspective, one of my favorites this year was JASON REITMAN and DIABLO CODY's YOUNG ADULT, a film loathed by most of America. I almost always love the original, unique, and avant-garde. Hell, I applaud and enjoy FINAL EXAM for its hour-long collegiate character study as opposed to its slash 'n stalk-y denouement. Also, I have a shockingly high tolerance for crap. From PIECES or TROLL 2 to STV garbage like AX 'EM or the CAMP BLOOD series, I can usually find something worthwhile in anything. All I ever ask for is a little entertainment. Make me laugh, cry, or scream and I'm ready to sing your film's praises right away.

For me, there's nothing worse than a film stuck in the middle of the road. Those are the kinds of films that leave you feeling like you wasted two hours of your life. Even in a typically bad film, there could be something unintentionally hilarious, whether it be an inept line reading, a campy performance, or a delicious lack of understanding of the cinematic language, that makes the viewing experience a little worthwhile.

I'd been hearing about THE CABIN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD (oops, meant WOODS) since its inception a few years back. Being a casual BUFFY watcher, I was certainly curious to see what JOSS WHEDON would come up with. Once the film went into production, it was masked in a veil of secrecy. No one knew anything about the movie. In this day and age, that's quite the feat and I was proud of WHEDON and co. being able to keep a film under wraps like that.

Once the trailer was released, I was underwhelmed. It didn't really interest me very much. It looked predicable and about as dull as the trailer for SHARK NIGHT 3-D (which I still do not plan on seeing. Ever.) Could this really be the film everyone was waiting for?

Then, the reviews came in. All glowing. As horror fans, we don't like to admit it, but we sort of love it when a horror film gets such great reviews. It feels like our beloved genre has finally found acceptance in the mainstream and people finally "get it." Plus, as a hardcore horror fan, I'll usually always go see a new original horror film, foolishly hoping that maybe this will help stop the glut of horrible remakes and over produced, braindead 3-D "epics" from getting the greenlight. Clearly, now, I HAD to see it, so I got a group of my friends together and we sat down, about a week ago, in our local multiplex and…well, something didn't go as planned.

The story of CABIN IN THE WOODS centers around a rather typical assortment of college students going to the titular cabin in a dense forest for a little R&R and God knows what else. For a film that seems to think it's rather unique and original, the characters are cookie cutter as can be (which is the point of the film, but still…), but that's not always a bad thing. Sometimes, it can be fun knowing all the archetypes and what to expect, I mean, there has to be SOME reason why all the FRIDAY THE 13TH films were so successful, right? The problem here is that not many of the characters are very likable or relatable, even in a humorous or satirical way. The film's lead female "virgin" Dana (KRISTEN CONNOLLY) is amiable enough, but the rest of the crew leave a little be desired, especially the token stoner Marty (FRAN KRANZ).

Let me just talk about Marty for a little while, because I truly feel that a lot of what's wrong with this film can be summarized with his character. He's annoying, shrill, un-funny, and doesn't know when to stop. From the first moment he appears on screen, I was eagerly anticipating his death.

Intercut in between all the cliched EVIL DEAD inspired hi-jinx, there's a group of people controlling and supervising what these hormonally challenged 20-somethings say and do? BRADLEY WHITFORD and RICHARD JENKINS, two fantastic actors who I always enjoy watching, play the two leads in this sub-plot, but they have little to work with. Their jokes are painfully unfunny and as interesting as this concept could be, it more often than not, falls flat.

Look, I love humor with my horror. From SCREAM to DRAG ME TO HELL, I enjoy horror comedies if they are done correctly and feel balanced. Even last year's deliciously spooky INSIDIOUS kept me interested and entertained when it went of the rails into WILLIAM CASTLE/camp-ville mid way through. THE CABIN IN THE WOODS feels like a concept concocted through a cloud of pot smoke at a wrap party for one of WHEDON's other shows. It's like walking into a conversation that's already been going on for days and not getting anything the other people are saying. CABIN is the cinematic equivalent of an in-joke.

If there is any humor to be found, it's at the expense of the audience. I don't know about anyone else, but I was a little offended by how rude the humor was to horror fans. They might as well just cut to a shot of WHEDON giving us the finger. It's clear that WHEDON is not the horror fan people think he is. One would think he'd have been at least a little more reverent with his digs at the genre, but, instead, it almost feels as if he's mocking the audience that goes to see this kind of movie by saying "Gah! Don't you know how stupid these movies are?" At least SCREAM's digs at the genre were never at the price of the film itself and were always in good humor.

There is one admittedly hysterical scene mid way through involving our films "hero," a motorcycle, an epic speech, and an unexpected outcome that had me in stitches for a little while, but other than that, the film's humor never landed for me. I got what they were trying to say, but I feel like it's been done so many times now (and WAY better might I add) that it just felt tired.

Also, the film is still going by the same old set of crusty old horror movie "rules" set out by SCREAM almost 20 years ago. The virgin always lives. The jock is a braindead horn dog. The stoner's the wise comedic relief. I feel like, if they were true horror fans, they would have figured this out by now. HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE and MY BLOODY VALENTINE both feature heroines who, while mostly kind and sweet, are probably neither virgins. Hell, do we even know if Laurie Strode was really a virgin? Maybe she just had a lot of homework to do and didn't care too much about the dudes. Alice, Ginny, Chris, and Trish from the first four FRIDAY movies were certainly no virgins, either. Where does this stuff come from? Although, honestly, this always bothered me in SCREAM, too.

Some people are telling me the humor isn't supposed to be funny, because it's "satire." I'm all for satire, in fact, it's my favorite kind of humor. HEATHERS, DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, NETWORK, and most of JOHN WATERS' films, are some of my all time favorite movies, but those were actually funny. They at least made me chuckle. I'm not expecting SCARY MOVIE-style slapstick, but c'mon! CABIN, besides said motorcycle speech scene, failed to ever even make me so much as grin during it's hour and a half run time.

So, if it's not funny, is it at least scary? Far from it. In fact, I believe a four-year-old could take this movie. Without scares or laughs, what am I supposed to make of this movie? It's middle of the road. It's just there. I'm not worse for wear after watching it, but I'm not going to remember it in a few weeks either. Even a surprising (if useless) last minute cameo by a member of horror/sci-fi royalty in the middle of the horrendously bad CGI fest of an ending that even the SyFy Channel would disown (hope that's not what took them so long to get this released) can't save it from "been there, done that" syndrome. It just felt like a waste of time.

By my (admittedly low) standards, the film fails. It didn't make me laugh, cry, or scream.

I'm already aware that most people will say that "I just didn't get it!" and I'm prepared to take the heat. There are always a few movies every year that a lot of people love that I don't get. AVATAR and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY are the most recent examples. So, I don't understand what the big deal is about them, but if you enjoy them, that's all that matters.

My friend, Nina, who saw the film with me (we both loathed it) put it best. She said it was like a "hipster horror film." The more I think about it, the more I realize she's right. God knows those goobers love their irony. All the people praising the film seem to take pride in the fact that they somehow cracked the code and feel smarter than everyone else. Sorry, but there is no code to crack. A bad movie is just a bad movie, folks. OR maybe I'm just not "sophisticated" enough to get it. You guys be the judge.

Traumafessions :: Reader Alex on Pipes from Ghostwatch

Posted on By aunt john

The most dramatic childhood horror moment for me occurred at age 13, back in 1992 during a Halloween party at my friend Charlotte's house in Selston (not far from Nottingham).

We'd all been out with her achingly cool older brothers (early 20's) to rent horror films (from memory, DOLLY DEAREST and POLTERGEIST 2), but having arrived back to the house at about 9pm, we switched on BBC1 to be met with a title screen for "GhostWatch", which I'm sure you're familiar with. Being 13, impressionable and a little immature for my age, the hour and a half-ish long mock-live "real" feed from the incredibly normal looking "haunted" house in London absolutely SHAT me up. What made it so scary was the squeaky clean presenters we all knew from kids TV – Craig Charles (of Red Dwarf fame) and Sarah Green being so incredibly convincing that the show was live.

The juxtaposition between the everyday and absolute horror was incredibly clever. We also had no idea it was a "play". That, and the fact that the titular ghost, which we screamed at as it was glimpsed and hinted at in incredibly quick camera pans and reflective patio doors etc, was a 6 foot, cross dressing, child-murdering pedophile name "Pipes" by the (at the time) convincing child actresses portraying the two daughters.

I have never been so utterly scared in my whole life, even surrounded by 10-12 prep school mates and my hosts older brothers, because it was portrayed as being live and utterly real. So real-seeming in fact, that it I believe it was banned by the BBC. I bought it a couple of years ago via their website on DVD (the ban apparently lifted) and even at the age of 32, it's still bloody scary. Yes, it seems hammier now, but the ghost itself, horrible cat scratching noises and the horrific croaking, gasping voice emitting from one of the daughters as she channels Pipes is still terrifying.

Even Charlotte's older brothers were shaken up, and as we all camped out in the sitting room to sleep – I was scared stiff despite being surrounded by my friends. Usually, I'd have been fine even if I had someone with me – not with GhostWatch, and in fact had to sleep in my brother's room on a mattress for at least a month following that night. And I don't mind admitting that!

— quick camera pan….HOLY SHIT DID YOU SEE THAT!!!!

Thanks so much for considering posting my experience, keep up the good work!

— Alex B.

UNK SEZ::Oh how I love GHOSTWATCH! It puts most faux-reality horror to absolute shame! Sorry about your trauma Alex but I stand here in utter jealousy that you got to experience GHOSTWATCH in the fullest way possible without completely loosing your mind! Kids, For more on this highly effective & influential program, check out its official site HERE! And if you'd like to watch GHOSTWATCH in it's entirety just jump on over and meet Pipes HERE!

Kinder-Flix :: Panic (1978)

Posted on By unkle lancifer

A ways back somewhere on these pages I was talking about a story my older brother told me that I took as gospel and later found out was an urban legend. As per usual with such tales, there are a multitude of variations floating about one of which is captured in a short film from 1978 called PANIC. It's directed by JAMES DEARDEN, the guy who wrote FATAL ATRACTION and from what I've heard, it was known to appear on the USA network and before features in UK cinemas. Why we've never received a traumafession for this one, I'll never know so I thought I'd throw it up on the Kindertrauma wall hoping that some day somebody looking for it will find it here. Do you guys remember this story? A woman in a car picks up a stranded old lady. As they drive the woman starts to suspect that there is something not quite right about the oldster. The driver figures out a way to get the creepy stranger out of her car but she leaves behind a handbag. When the purse is opened it reveals…

Name That Trauma :: Kinderpal Senski of Heart in a Jar on Two Terrible PSA's

Posted on By aunt john

Hey friends…

Time to turn to the collective hive-mind that is the Kindertrauma fanbase to see who can track down a couple more PSA's that have stayed with me over the years, and I've love to see them again. Since the Monkey From Hell was unearthed, let's see if they can make it a hat trick…

1) This PSA aired during the late '60s-early '70s, and I recall it receiving a lot of play on sleepy Sunday mornings. It was a full minute in length, unfolding almost like a short film. Four teens carjack (?) a vehicle and go out for a raucous joyride. The accident that follows is swift and savage, with the car flying through the air to collapse in a heap. I remember the screams; the teens yelling for their lives, a cut to the car in midair, then back to the screaming kids, then the awful silence after the crash, implying that all had been killed. I don't recall if it was a message for seat belts, against unlicensed driving or carjacking; heck, it might have been a drunk driving spot. But after 40+ years, I still can hear those screams.

2) The second PSA I only saw once, but it left an indelible impression. This would be late '70s-early '80s, and it aired on CBS right before the 10pm news. It was all of ten or 15 seconds in length. Sunny day, camera in the trees, beginning a slow pan down and to the right. A radio announcer is carrying on about what a gorgeous day it is, ending with something along the lines of, "…so get outside and take a dip in that pool!" By then the camera has descended upon a swimming pool, with a long shot of a body lying face down in the water, motionless, presumably dead. The Voice of Doom then warns the audience about swimming alone or unattended. It was chilling to see a PSA with an actual body. I often wonder if it aired so infrequently because of viewer calls. It was as late as late could be and still fall within prime time.

So there you have it; hope someone can unearth this pair of portentous PSA's!

Mega-love,

Steve Senski

UNK SEZ:: Thanks Senski! Here's hoping we can track these down! Kids, make sure you stop by Senski's awesome joint HEART IN A JAR and soon!

The Cabin in the Woods Funhouse Part 2!

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Hey look, it's another CABIN IN THE WOODS-themed funhouse! Why is that happening? I was just thinking that this weekend is just as good as last weekend to check it out! What's all this nonsense about horror fans going to see stuff the first week or not at all anyway? Get it together people! Now I can't guarantee you'll like CITW because I know a few who didn't, but part of the fun of movies is taking that risk and finding out for yourself. Give it a go. If you do like it, chances are it will be in a big way. Since CABIN has been out a full week I think I can leak a smidge of spoilage (ew.) and reveal that it loosely references many a famous fright flick. The image above is made of scraps of films that CABIN kinda sorta tips its roof to. Can you guess them all? If you do, you are the super king!

Name That Trauma :: Reader Rodrigo T. on a Town Turned Green

Posted on By aunt john

Good morning!

I was wondering if you know the title of a horror movie in the 1980s?

Description: There were a couple student classmates that were in love, but there is a problem. An evil woman that was obsessed with him, but he doesn't love her, so, the evil woman took in revenge against the girl — killing her, stabbing a knife in her back in the car in front of her boyfriend.

There are more details about that movie. The town was under a curse because the people became greenish skin. The boy cursed her before her girlfriend had died. I remember when he said, "Damn you are!! Damn you are!!" Finally, she laughed with an evil laughing like this "Hahaahhaahah-haahhaahhahaha!!!!!!!!" and then he said, "Oh God someone help me."

Do you remember that movie? Yes/No?

Please tell me the title of that horror movie.

Also I am not sure but the evil woman was so cute; Caucasian, she had a long black hair, and she dressed in black.

Thanks again,

— Rodrigo T.

The Cabin in the Woods

Posted on By unkle lancifer

I got so busy this past weekend I forgot to tell you all about my successful, highly NON-disappointing excursion to see THE CABIN IN THE WOODS. I feel like it might almost be too late as you've probably heard the good news elsewhere but if I can convince one fence-sitter to go and check it out, then I'd like to give it a shot. Trouble is, if ever there was a movie you should know little or nothing about before seeing it, it's this one. So how can I persuade you without wrecking the whole thing? I went twice. Does that work? As soon as the movie was over I checked when the next show time was and then I saw it again. Now, would I do that for a terrible movie? Frankly, yes I would, but you're missing my point, I had to see THE CABIN IN THE WOODS twice because once was not enough to fully process its wonder. I can't wait to own this movie because I need to pause it on a couple scenes and nibble every single pixel. I want to watch it with close captioning so that no word can elude me. AMY ACKER is in this. I love her.

So yeah, I may have a bit of a raging predisposition for CABIN too. The sad truth is that for years, while secretly mocking the world's religions, I have also been hypocritically praying in the temple of JOSS WHEDON. I try to keep a lid on it. I know how it must sound but in the wee hours of the night when nobody's around, I'm watching a BUFFY episode for the gazillionth time and experiencing euphoric highs while weeping and speaking in tongues. JOSS WHEDON's face once appeared to me on an Eggo waffle. Ok that's not true but it's sort of basically true-ish. THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, which WHEDON co-wrote with director DREW GODDARD (who also penned some of my favorite BUFFY episodes), justifies my reverence and is an accumulation of the type of genre smudging and creative cajoles that ignited my zealotry. This sermon is only an hour and a half rather than seven years so jump on the express train to glory my brothers and sisters. Halleluiah!

Also while you are in church shut up. You're there to listen and observe not to try to figure it out before other people do or ponder the differences between what you thought it might be and what it is. Every horror fan should see this but those who bemoan sequels and remakes and wail for originality should be forced to see it at gunpoint. Be glad I'm not in charge because each ticket would also come with a mandatory ball gag. As a courtesy, I will soften expectations by saying this is not the type of thing you endure and then boast to your friends that it didn't faze you because you're so cool. It's not trying to impress you with hackneyed depravity; it's more of a boundary butcher that gets off on how limitlessly imaginative the genre could be if we stopped giving people what they want and start giving them what they need. CABIN is no way the be-all end-all. I enjoy many flavors to choose from and I'm not convinced that the rules and tropes it subverts need be fully abandoned. Still, in my eyes, this movie craftily climbs to a peak position where it can both revel in where horror has been and scout out the infinite possibilities ahead. Every New Testament should be this much fun.

Traumafessions :: Reader Chanter on Size Small

Posted on By aunt john

Hi Kindertrauma!

It's been a while since I last sent in a traumafession (though by the looks of the comments to that last, I may have inadvertently traumatized someone's kidlet – sorry!) so I thought I'd share another one.

As in my first two, sound played a significant role in this one as well. If any other readers were watching U.S. public television in the late 1980s or early 1990s, they probably saw more than a few Canadian children's television programs. I definitely did, and I'm the happier for it. Most of these were pretty warm and fuzzy, and the source of much enjoyment for tiny me. There was one SIZE SMALL snippet that I could never entirely enjoy, however.

I know it probably sounds ridiculous that Miss Helen's announcement of, "It's cookies in the kitchen time!" left me dismayed, but it routinely did. The music has a lot to do with it; something about that synthesizer note buzzing in the background just plain gets under my skin to this day. The lyrics are quite innocuous, and taken on their own, they're really rather cute. But, being a neurotic little girl (haven't changed much either, only now I'm a bit taller) with a fear of hot and burning things among others, kindergarten-ish me subconsciously took the idea of an ovenful of baking cookies and ran with it. Figures I'd get a nightmare from something so harmless. In it, the "Ooh they're bakin'" line was followed by "Ooh they're burnin'", a smoke alarm, continued menacing music, and a whole host of other things as time went on–yes, this nightmare stuck with me and expanded as I got older! Brrrrr! … I'm only now realizing just how big my issues with fire were as a child.

Sorry, Miss Helen, if you're reading this. I know you didn't mean to traumatize anybody. One sketch does not an otherwise delightful viewing experience ruin, I assure you.

— Chanter