kindertrauma

Traumafessions:: Reader Grimpressions on Why Me?

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Some of the movies that scared me the most as a kid were made-for-TV movies based on true events. Sure many of them are corny and deviated from the actual facts, but as a kid most of the time I didn't realize it. I was fascinated by the movies that had to deal with horrible accidents or people being disfigured. I don't know if I was an insensitive little shit or if I just watched too much TV. One film I'll always remember was WHY ME?

It aired a lot in the '80's, mainly on Lifetime. I remember the first time I watched almost the whole movie was particularly horrifying. I was at my cousin's house during a summer afternoon while my Mom was working. My cousin, who was around my same age, just had surgery done to his eye and he had to wear a patch over it. I'm not sure who thought this was a good idea, but the patch his doctor made him wear was a skin-colored bandage. I guess from a distance it was less noticeable than a patch like a pirate would wear, but up close it was really off-putting to an eight-year-old kid. It looked like skin had melted over his eye. I shouldn't have been scared of him, but I was.

So as I avoided hanging out with him during his recovery, I found other things to do like watch Lifetime with my Aunt. She was watching WHY ME? It was about a nurse who's face was disfigured in a car accident. Here's another situation where I shouldn't have been scared, but I was. I remember it looked like skin had melted over her mouth after she had one of her operations to reconstruct her lips and it reminded me of my cousin's eye so I couldn't get away from it. I was also freaked out by one doctor's drawings and I wondered why he wanted to make her look as ugly as his sketch. All of the medical jargon completely went over my head at the time and I didn't realize that facial reconstruction was such a long process.

Watching parts of the movie on YouTube, I now realize that a lot of the plot is based on how controversial and groundbreaking the doctor's procedures were. He wanted to use vaginal skin to repair the nurse's lips. I was also pleasantly surprised to see BRUCE ABBOTT make an appearance as one of the patients.

— Grimpressions

Name That Trauma :: Reader Keanu E. on Murderous Mall Mannequins

Posted on By aunt john

I have been trying to find the title of this made-for-TV movie since forever. I watched it in the late ‘90s although it could be early ‘90s, or late ‘80s even. I asked a friend who said the people at Kindertrauma usually can find ANYTHING. However I think this one might stump you as I have asked on every horror site known to man and nobody recalls it.

It was about a department store that may have been called "Boyles" which sold clothes, beds etc… So anyway these people get trapped inside and the mannequins in the store are trying to kill them! The opening of the movie has a man in the store basement that is impaled through the chest from behind by a CHARLIE CHAPLIN-looking mannequin holding an umbrella which he then opens.

I also remember two other specific scenes. At one point, a girl is tied to a pillar and has a very short amount of time to escape before a mannequin squirts acid onto her face from a crystalline decanter. There's also a part where the people who are trapped have to jump across a row of double beds because the floor is electrified. There may also have been a back story about the store's previous owner having a fat son who was bullied.

I can remember a lot of it so vividly but only one person on the entire Internet has described something vaguely similar and he never found out what it was either.

Can you help? This movie freaked the hell out of me.

Thanks,

— Keanu E.

UNK SEZ:: Thanks for the challenging "Name That Trauma" Keanu! I foolishly thought that we had covered every possible mannequin trauma on these pages but this one sounds different! I did notice other folks wondering about this same flick online so I hope one of our readers can help! The mall setting means we can rule out previous mannequin traumas TOURIST TRAP & the short LIVING DOLLS! I hope we can find this one, it sounds cool!

Traumafessions :: Propagatrix on The Mystery of Chimney Rock (Choose Your Own Adventure, #5)

Posted on By aunt john

Remember THIS evil little nugget?

My particular trauma-trigger was the scenario in which the reader is confronted with a plate of cheese and crackers and the choice to eat them or leave them. My chubby cheese-loving eleven-year-old self naturally chose to devour the food…and when I turned to the page that revealed my consequent fate, I found that I'd been turned into a MOUSE.

Seriously, it was scarier than it sounds.

Really.

— Propagatrix

Official Traumatizer :: Tom Holland

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Hey remember when we used to give out "Official Traumatizer" titles to worthy folks? Why'd we ever stop doing that? Was it because nobody cared? That's no reason to stop doing stuff! With the remake of FRIGHT NIGHT right around the corner wouldn't this be a swell time to send some gratitude toward the man responsible for writing and directing the classic original? I'd say so.

PSYCHO II

HOLLAND wrote PSYCHO II and what an incredible accomplishment that is. Personally I can't imagine a better handling of the material and stand even more impressed knowing it was done under what had to be the most cynical of scrutiny. I'd like to strangle QUENTIN TARANTINO for stating that he prefers the second PSYCHO to the first on account of I wanted to say that myself. Sure, HITCH's take is brilliant and genius and a cinematic landmark and all that but PSYCHO II is my idea of the perfect movie. People should rip it off more often. You guys know I love my semi-gothic, creepy-antique-y social reject films and you know that I love the type of movie where somebody may get a butcher knife crammed in the back of their skull till the tip of the blade appears in their gaping pie hole right? Well, you almost never see both of those wonderful elements in the same movie. Yes, a rich psychological character study with satisfying kills is doable. All you "Back Stories Ruin the Horror! " people take a hike. HOLLAND adds many a layer to our understanding of Norman while maintaining apt space for sympathy and fear (or empathy and unease) to collide like gangbusters. Respect is paid toward the original while still moving forward into fresh territory. Good sequels are possible and I present you with this "Exhibit A."

FRIGHT NIGHT

Aw, who doesn't have a soft spot for FRIGHT NIGHT? From wolf toe to burnt-by -crucifix forehead it's all about the love of the genre. HOLLAND probably had the most creative control on this picture, as both writer and director, and the outcome speaks for itself. Exemplary special effects, genuine scares and thrills, comedy that doesn't make you cringe, a notable cast of players and bad guys as intriguing as the good. It's no wonder this movie is so beloved, it's got a rare adventurous spirit, it celebrates its rag tag eccentric's foibles and as frothy fun as its willing to be, it's not afraid to go dark and get its paws messy with real horror and even pathos. Admit it, some of it is rather touching. It's a real shame HOLLAND wasn't required (or pleaded and begged with) to participate in the sequel because FRIGHT NIGHT had the makings of an epic series of films. I know the HOLLAND-less FN:P2 has its supporters but to me, it's quite the pale shadow.

CHILD'S PLAY

If public perception of CHILD'S PLAY is that it is a wacky parody cheesefest of some sort then the public have not watched the original film lately. It's mostly a restrained affair, all things considered, and boy does it know what to show, plus how much to show of it and when. The killer doll storyline is inherently humorous but that doesn't dilute CHILD'S PLAY's ability to hit the nail on the head expressing parental fears about the limits of being able to keep a child from harm and bad influences. From a child's perspective, we're talking Kindertrauma gold here. What child hasn't had the horrific fantasy of their smiling toys coming to life and isn't one of the scariest parts of growing up learning that some people may only pretend to be your friend? Chucky would go on to be a towering figure in the world of horror, but much of that is due to the fact that the first floor of his skyscraping presence is sturdy as hell.

AND THEN SOME…

As if the above three slabs of awesome were not enough, HOLLAND had his hand in two of my favorite trash treasures… CLASS OF 1984 and THE BEAST WITHIN. He wrote the little seen and underloved home invasion flick SCREAM FOR HELP (1984) (which was directed by DEATH WISH's MICHAEL WINNER and is tons of tacky fun), he directed CLOAK & DAGGER which inspired a traumafession HERE and his output includes two above average/serviceable STEPHEN KING adaptations with THINNER and the T.V. miniseries THE LANGOLIERS.

Speaking of television, HOLLAND was behind the classic made-for-T.V. movie THE INITIATION OF SARA, directed THE STRANGER WITHIN (which we received a traumafession for HERE) and has put his stamp on stellar episodes of TALES FROM THE CRYPT, AMAZING STORIES and a very Kindertraumatic killer clown episode of MASTERS OF HORROR entitled "We All Scream For Ice Cream" (review HERE.)

As an actor, TOM HOLLAND is the only person on Earth who can lay claim to performing alongside both INGRID BERGMAN (A WALK IN THE SPRING RAIN) and master thespian VICTOR CROWLEY (HATCHET II). I started this post to spotlight HOLLAND's artistry and position as a true traumatizer, but I have come to realize that he is the CHUCK NORRIS of horror. Dude even got some training from BRUCE LEE and took on THE INCREDIBLE HULK (Okay well, he didn't actually get to fight the green one in the season two episode "Another Path" but almost!) There are careers and then there are careers. He may not be the household name that some of his contemporaries are but one thing is indisputable, TOM HOLLAND has had a hulkian effect on cinema and consequently, the pages of Kindertrauma.

Kinder-Spotlight :: Inside

Posted on By aunt john

What's this? Two Sundays in a row without Kindertrauma's "Stream Warriors" feature? What gives? Well we are still nursing the wounds inflicted upon us by Netflix's sneaky price increase. We had forgiven them for destroying bricks and mortar video stores but this new bait and switch is just too much! Someone has gotten too big for their britches! Why should we use coveted Kindertrauma real estate to promote those cheap ingrates when it can be better utilized by wonderful sponsors like Intel and Toshiba? Yes, the following is a sponsored post, paid for by Intel and Toshiba!

Are you sick of passively streaming dullsville movies on Netflix and have you ever asked yourself why the heck can't I get involved with the events that happen in the film I'm watching? Do you wish to be a participant in something new and exciting rather than just an observer? You're prayers have been answered and not by Netflix either, they have been answered by the good folks at Intel and Toshiba.

Starting tomorrow YOU will be able to take active part in a movie! INSIDE is a film that stars EMMY ROSSUM and is directed by the guy who did DISTURBIA (DJ CARUSO) and another person called YOU! Folks will get a chance to alter and experience INSIDE as it happens thanks to the help of social media favorites like TWITTER, FACEBOOK, and YOUTUBE! You can learn more HERE and from the embedded video below.

Name That Trauma :: Reader Lizzie C. on an Illuminated En Masse Abduction

Posted on By aunt john

I absolutely love your website and have been visiting it daily since I discovered its existence! I've been knocking around the idea of sending in my own Name That Trauma for quite some time now, but I had always held off on it because I'm not sure how solid my memory of the scene I want to reference is, and also, I'm not entirely sure it wasn't just some crazy fever dream. But I decided, what the hey, I'll just submit it for some peace of mind and if someone knows what I am talking about, I will have ended a many, many years long mystery, which will be a relief!

I remember being 8 or 9, and I want to say the movie had to be from the mid-to-late ‘80s or early ‘90s. I remember that there was a class of children who made lanterns as a project and they were going on an evening parade to show off the lanterns to their parents and families. They went over a hill and disappeared on the other side. I remember being extremely creeped out by seeing the lanterns going over the hill, just little lights in the darkness, and you could barely see the children. There was a boy who was in bed when this happened, and he was watching out of his bedroom window. I think he had gotten in trouble or had not completed the project or some other thing, so he was not at the parade. He watched through those curtains with horizontal slats in his bedroom, and he saw the kids go over the hill and then saw a bright flash of light…he didn't know what had happened, but it was at that moment when the kids went over the hill that they all disappeared. Which makes me want to believe that this was some kind of alien abduction movie, or some other sci-fi flick. But that one scene is all I remember of this movie because it made me horrified to go outside in the dark – I might suddenly disappear like the kids in the movie, you know!

I apologize if it is a really well-known movie (or, for that matter, if it is not even a movie, and just something that I dreamed). I will feel stupid. But I do not typically watch alien movies or sci-fi movies…I'm much more into slasher flicks and survival horror. So forgive me if this is a common film…it just isn't in a genre that I usually watch!

If anyone has any ideas about what movie this might be, I would be so grateful! And please keep in mind that it was fifteen years ago and my memory of the scene may be shaky; so take my synopsis of the scene with a grain of salt. I'd appreciate anything that sounds at all similar, just for the leads, and who knows, it might be right!

Thanks so much for your help!

— Lizzie C.

Name That Trauma :: Kinderpal Brother Bill of The Haunted Closet on a Creepy Crack

Posted on By aunt john

After lurking at Kindertrauma for several years, I FINALLY have a Name That Trauma request worthy of the site. I've had a run of good luck tracking down spooky books and films that haunted me as a child, from the haunted house oral hygiene film I saw in 2nd grade (The Haunted Mouth), to the pair of creepy anthology books I used to check out from the school library (Roger Elwood's Monster Tales and Horror Tales), the classroom vandalism film that never let go of my soul (The Boy Who Liked Deer) and the disturbing image of an exotic dancer biting off the head of a live snake that I needed to exorcise from my subconscious (Stanley!)

But there is one fragment of a memory from early childhood that I've never been able to locate. A short animated piece (I remember sparse black-and-white line drawings) where a little girl or boy is in the bedroom and a crack on the wall starts moving, talking, and forming different shapes. I remember it finally formed a monstrous, scary face, before freezing and becoming just a crack in the wall again. I want to say this was on SESAME STREET or ELECTRIC COMPANY, but not sure. This would have been in the early-to-mid '70s.

In my own search on-line, I find reference to this film in talkbalk conversations by other people also desperate to identify it (the consensus seems to be it was from SESAME STREET, possibly called "Crack Master") but no one is 100% sure, nor does anyone have a screen capture or video clip of the film… any help?

Thanks, Kindertrauma!

— Brother Bill

The Haunted Closet

Traumafessions :: Reader "doihaveto" on Ratboy

Posted on By aunt john

I don't know that I have found anything about this horrid little gem on your website. It's a 1986 movie called RATBOY directed by SONDRA LOCKE. Now, it may not be a horror movie, but there were elements that really rang true to one in my seven year old mind. My father took immense pleasure in watching the horrified looks on my brother's and my face when he found a particularly good kindertrauma-esque movie. RATBOY was one of the over the top ones for me.

It's harmless enough, but it begins with a scene that has COURTNEY GAINS in it. After seeing CHILDREN OF THE CORN, that guy scared the bejesus out of me. That is a whole different traumafession that has already been touched on by many here.

Needless to say, that was the beginning of the horror for me. I think I might have peed a little, but I don't remember this movie all that clearly. At 31, I am still too scared to watch it again. Anyhow, when we first find Ratboy, there is an old '50s style box type record player that has Lloyd Price's "Personality" playing on it. I distinctly remember this song being prominent throughout the movie. I still think of the movie every time I hear the song, but the memories are still very fuzzy for me. I think the director really wanted it to be a life lesson sort of the thing, but it was surreal and strange. More of a dark comedy than a horror flick. It had all of the wholesomeness of an Afterschool Special and most of the camp of a Late Night Screamer. I think there was some kind of underlying morality message and you were to be saddened by the plight of Ratboy, but honestly, with Malachai in the opening scene and the makeup job, that was phenomenal for its day, I just couldn't see it. I think I need to man up and give this one another watch, but I am home alone right now and don't think I could do it.

I am interested to see if any of you guys remember this one. I would hate to think that I am the only one who was terrorized by this movie.

— "doihaveto"

New reader!!

I love your site by the way!!

Razorback (1984)

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Okay, now I'm all obsessed with RUSSELL MULCAHY's giant pig movie RAZORBACK from 1984. I did catch this one back in the day on cable and I remember being struck by the visuals and left with at least one strong scene trapped in my head, but why has it taken me so long to return to this handsome misfit flick? In my defense, copies don't exactly grow on trees in my neck of the woods but I'm still ashamed of not putting forth a bit more effort. We're talking a killer pig movie from the director of the "Total Eclipse of the Heart" video after all. How is that not going to work for me?

GREGORY HARRISON stars as vanilla urbanite Carl Winters who hits the gritty Aussie outback in search of his missing reporter wife. While in the Land of Oz he encounters obstinate man of the land Jake Cullen (BILL KERR) whose grandson did a similar vanishing act. Locals accuse Jake of the tot's disappearance not believing his account of a tusked boar or "razorback" the size of a rhino snatching the kid away (I thought only dingoes did that!) The two are helped by a beautiful piggy expert (the late ARKIE WHITELEY of THE ROAD WARRIOR) and hindered by two nutzo brothers (CHRIS HAYWOOD & DAVID ARGUE) so twisted they'd feel right at home at the family dinner table from THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.

I'm not going to lie, not everything is firing on all cylinders in RAZORBACK. Much like the previous year's THE KEEP, the visuals tend to bully if not suffocate the narrative. Unlike THE KEEP though, RAZORBACK provides us with at least enough information to know what's going down. It may not always tell its story in the most coherent way possible but there is never any doubt that we are watching a man vs. beast tale not unlike JAWS or even ALIEN. MULCAHY's effort may not be the smooth running machine those two examples are but give him a break; there are easier tasks in life than constructing and convincingly displaying on film, a monster pig. I don't think the title creature looks that bad myself but the effort to keep the questionably convincing porker under wraps tends to render some of the action overtly obtuse.

Various shortcomings aside, RAZORBACK is gonzo gorgeous nearly all of the time and the decades have only made it more dazzlingly esoteric. MULCAHY has brought along his bag of video tricks: light beams, reflections and flares bounce off of everything but what is really astonishing is how other-worldly he presents his homeland. I swear it looks more like another planet than another continent on multiple occasions. That's never more so the case then when mid-way through the film, Carl's exhaustion leads to hallucinations and we're gifted acid-flashback eye candy, perfectly doused in an IVA DAVIES' (of the Aussie band ICEHOUSE) score. I'd say this film is only a proper DVD/Blu-ray release away from having its cult status explode triple fold.

RAZORBACK was MULCAHY's first theatrical film and although not a financial victory, he, along with cinematographer DEAN SEMLER (THE ROAD WARRIOR), delivered something vibrantly cutting edge and trash chic unique that looks like science fiction, feels like horror and struts like an action-adventure/western. The story loudly argues with the semi-slacking special effects but the overall dynamic look of this batty opus is the ultimate peacekeeper.

Things may have fared better with a leading man who could possibly compete with the surroundings and supporting players but GREGORY HARRISON can at least be said to sufficiently convince us that he's in over his head. One could argue that HAYWOOD & ARGUE as the rat-like brothers Benny & Dicko Baker slyly swipe some of the titular beast's thunder but my personal favorite scene involves the porcine powerhouse dragging off the side of a home, with blasting TV included, away from an in-shock couch potato. That'll do pig!