kindertrauma

Traumafessions :: Reader Grimpressions on The Haunted: A True Story

Posted on By aunt john

I stumbled upon this great site about two weeks ago and I've been visiting several times a day ever since. KINDERTRAUMA has rejuvenated my interest in old horror movies and pretty much anything that creeped me out as a kid. So as I religiously watched every minute of THE WALKING DEAD this Fall I kept asking myself where I've seen JEFFREY DeMUNN who plays, Dale, the older man in the group of survivors. I looked up his filmography and I realised that he played the father in a made-for-T.V. movie that scared the crap out of me as a kid called THE HAUNTED: A TRUE STORY.

I remember getting our first V.C.R. when I was 8 or 9 years old, around the time the first BATMAN movie came out on video, back when it would take a year for movies to be released on video. From that point on I proceeded to tape anything on that looked scary. We only had basic cable channels so I ended up recording a lot of T.V. movies, mostly based on true stories. It became somewhat of an art for me because I'd pause the taping and kept the commercials out so perfectly so that you almost couldn't tell they were recorded from television except of course for all the black fade-out and fade-in's and the family-friendly tackiness that accompanies T.V. movies. One of these movies was 1991's THE HAUNTED: A TRUE STORY, which was based on the case of the Smurl family haunting which took place in Pennsylvania during the 70's and 80's.

The movie was one of the more effective made-for-T.V. films. I started to realise how terrible a lot of them were as I got older and stated to rent rather than watch T.V. The acting was great and there were a lot of scary scenes. The ghosts that haunted the family were so relentless that they even followed the family when they tried to get away on a camping trip. The thought that ghosts could follow you outside of the house that was haunted terrified me.

The ghost appeared mainly as a floating, black mass. The usual events took place, chairs and dresser drawers moved on their own, radios turned on when unplugged, the family would hear voices, and there would be unexplained cold spots throughout the house. The black marks that re-appeared on the walls even after a fresh coating was applied was different along with the creepy pig squeals and snorts that would be heard coming from behind the walls.

The one scene that traumatized me though was when THE WALKING DEAD's own JEFFREY DeMUNN is raped by a female entity. DeMUNN who plays the father, Jack, is watching T.V. in the living room after everyone else goes to bed when he sees the ghost, who is an attractive girl at first, come down the stairs. She picks him up and throws him across the room. She straddles him and, at first, and he seems like almost doesn't mind it. The scary music swells and the ghost gets uglier and uglier and Jack starts to freak out. I finished recording the movie, but I couldn't watch it again for years.

Luckily some kind, or demented, soul posted the whole film in 10 parts on YouTube.

Terminal Island (1973)

Posted on By unkle lancifer

In the early days of the VHS tape, my family's video outlet was a glorified kiosk in the mall called "Stage Door Video." The horror section was about the size of a closet door and I'd be surprised if I didn't watch every one. The selection may have been limited but the memories of the movies I viewed via that joint are among my strongest and richest horror memories. I'm not sure if TERMINAL ISLAND really belonged in the horror section, it's more of an exploitation/action flick but the synopsis on the back of the box suggested something not unlike ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (although TI predates EFNY by 8 years) so I was more than game. You rolled the dice back then.

The premise of the movie involves the aftermath of the abolishment of the death penalty. Murderous criminals, rather than being jailed, are thrown on the titular island and left to fend for themselves. I only retained one memory of this film but it stuck to me like Velcro. A female prisoner seduces a male prisoner, applies honey to his junk and then grabs a stick, whacks a bee hive in a tree stump and chuckles as the bees swarm his private Benjamin. It really disturbed me. I couldn't tell you why a person (or a bee for that matter) would behave in such a way. The idea was atrocious.

I never saw TERMINAL ISAND again. I never stumbled across it in another video store and I like to think I covered those grounds like an obsessive archaeologist in my day. Recently I was informed by Amazon that TERMINAL was being released on DVD by CODE RED. I waited the allotted time to purchase a used copy and prepared to confront my tormentor head on. When the DVD arrived, I threw it in the machine in the spirit of a private dare and expected an onslaught of depravity. I wasn't looking for scares just SILKWOOD-shower inspiring psychological grime and garden-variety existential dread. What I wasn't expecting was a dragon with puppy eyes. TERMINAL ISLAND is not evil, it's nice.

Well, truth told it IS super violent, there's plenty of that almost pink-hued, seventies tempera-flavored blood flowing; axes pierce flesh, bullets and explosions rain, people are whipped and kept as sex slaves and political correctness is not even a glimmer in a schoolmarm's eye. Still, I was kind of shocked not by the rampant degeneracy but by the winking social commentary. I got this movie all wrong. Even the dreaded bee attack I came to find was not so much psychotically malicious as it was a deserved comeuppance. That lady even worked alongside her bee victim afterward toward a common goal (which is pretty forgiving considering all the attempted rape between them.) I won't wreck the ending but suffice to say, it's nearly golly-gee hopeful.

The island is a mad LORD OF THE FLIES meets BATTLE ROYALE microcosm overruled by grotesque, primitive "might makes right" ideology and the simple fact that the assholes outnumber the non-assholes. The many work as slaves for the few. (Could never happen!) That is until the last remaining women team up with a small band of tight-jeaned revolutionaries and they, using their superior brains, overthrow their oppressors by any means necessary. Here I was expecting to be all scandalized by this movie but I found myself instead enthralled, vaguely inspired and really happy when the bad murderers died and really sad when the good murderers died. It doesn't hurt that our heroes include a pre-MAGNUM P.I . TOM SELLECK and a post LOST IN SPACE , MARTA KRISTEN. In any case, if you fancy fisticuffs and have a soft spot for chika-chika- wow porn music here ya go; consider TI cloud nine. It's probably not everybody's incarcerated cup of T & A, but what the hell is?

Frankly, I'm most shocked that TERMINAL ISLAND is not more wildly notorious and that's not just my nostalgia-bias talking. Not only is it action packed and covertly clever but I found out it was directed by STEPHANIE ROTHMAN, a rare female exploitation director and the very first woman ever awarded a Directors Guild of America fellowship. It's nothing new to return to a KINDERTRAUMA after some time and discover that it's not quite the creature you left it. Usually it's lost some steam and its fangs have become dentures. In this atypical case, I have to say maturity is on my side because no, it's not the film I remember, it's better. In this case, my monster is now my friend because the years have taught me to take a peek beneath the camouflage tarp. I know now that just as sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, by the same token, sometimes a beehive is much more than a beehive. That lady with the honey wasn't crazy, she was pissed!

Name That Trauma :: Reader Llama on a Another Horrifying Halloween LP

Posted on By aunt john

There was a HORRIFYING record that I do not know the name of that was played in music class every Halloween at my elementary school in the late '70s. I dreaded music class in the weeks leading up to Halloween because I never knew when this record would be sprung on me. It involved an old woman, a parson, possibly a graveyard, and a terrifying woman's scream towards the end that would make everyone else in the class jump in joyful surprise and laughter.

It did not have the same effect on me.

I would literally be under a desk rocking with my eyes shut and my ears plugged, very close to a heart attack. I also would be "sick" and stay home from school on music day around this time if it was possible. I was totally serious about not hearing this song. I am curious about hearing it again to see if it is still as frightening to me. It had to have been off of some Halloween compilation from the '60s or early '70s I would guess.

I LOVE your website. I just came across it recently and I visit it every day now. Thanks!

AUNT JOHN SEZ: Llama, I'm not honestly sure the name of your LP, but I wonder if it is related to one Reader Adam N. was looking for this past October…

UPDATE: NAME THAT TRAUMA SOLVED! Special thanks to Kindertrauma DJ Propagatrix for putting the needle on the trauma with "There Was an Old Woman!"

Kinder-News:: Kindertrauma Nominated for Hitchie!

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Even though we can smell an elaborate prank that will result in pig's blood being dumped from a bucket onto our heads from a mile away, KINDERTRAUMA is infinity times grateful for being nominated by the one and only LOST HIGHWAY for a GOLDEN TRAILER HITCHIE award this year! To find out more about "The Hitchies" and to visit the many fine blogs who shall kick our humbled asses, travel YONDER!

Traumafessions :: Reader Albert F. on Night of the Living Dead, The Exorcist & The Thing

Posted on By aunt john

What scared me as a child most was:

1. A midnight T.V. showing of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. I was 13 years old and a NOLD virgin!

2. Seeing THE EXORCIST on T.V. when I was about 7 years old. I was from a very Christian background so the devil was a constant source of horror.

3. Seeing JOHN CARPENTER's THE THING. At 13 I thought I was beyond childhood terror. Silly boy. The scene where the fella's head dripped off his body and grew spider's legs… well, it stayed with me for a few nights.

Kindertrauma Year End Funhouse

Posted on By unkle lancifer

UNK SEZ:: Forgive me if this week's funhouse is too easy! I figured I might as well give two stones the bird and smoosh it up with a year end "best of" list! Now, this is is a loose list and not in any order, but here are ten films that stood out for me this past year. I didn't see EVERYTHING so what do I know? My friend Fetsko told me that DEVIL is really good too but since he also told me THE ENDING I won't be seeing that one any time soon, good though it may be. If I forgot one of your favorite flicks of the past year (like REC 2 for example!) let me know in the comments section. Good luck and here's to looking forward to a brand new slew of horror in 2011!

Kinder-Link :: Stellar Movie Fansites!

Posted on By unkle lancifer

I so admire websites that focus on one single film. I like to think of every movie being a universe in and of itself and when someone has a favorite film that they just can't get enough of, I get a sort of contact high from their enthusiasm. Here's a quick list of some of my favorites…

OUTPOST 31

Online since 2001, this heaven on Earth for fans of JOHN CARPENTER's THE THING is nearly as mind expanding as the film itself. I doubt there's any tidbit of information on CARPENTER's beloved horror sci-fi mash up that you won't find lovingly stored here. Founders TODD CAMERON and CHRIS MORGAN, with an assist from the late and greatly missed STEVE CRAWFORD, have created the only THE THING website anybody will ever require. Kudos are deserved for a mountain of impressive work. Chill at the outpost HERE!

CAPTAINHOWDY.COM

WILLIAM FRIEDKIN's non-stop genius towering achievement THE EXORCIST is a film that will always inspire endless fascination. Established way back in 1999, CAPTAINHOWDY.COM is an incredibly expansive resource for anything involving the classic film and its offshoots. Your life is not complete 'till you've seen a crocheted model of Reagan puking on Father Merrin, which you'll find in its FAN ART section. Allow the Captain to amaze and entertain you HERE!

THE BLACK CHRISTMAS FANSITE

One of the first websites to make me fall in love with the Internet was a BLACK CHRISTMAS fansite called IT'S ME BILLY which has broken my heart and disappeared. Thank the lord webmaster Scott found as much inspiration from that site as I did and created his own tribute to BOB CLARK's excellent seasonal shocker. So glad that Billy has found a second home and that you can still visit him HERE.

THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVES DOWN THE LANE

I gotta say, this movie had a profound effect on me in my youth. JODIE FOSTER as Rynn Jacobs lived my dream life: alone in a big house ditching school, reading books and murdering anyone who tried to expose her. This is a relatively young fansite and it's off to a fantastic and wonderfully obsessive start. If you too are a fan of the film, do yourself a favor and visit my hero Rynn HERE, just don't drink the tea!

POLTERGEIST III.COM

I can't do a list of fansites and not include my favorite fansite in the universe the one and only POLTERGEIST III fansite. It gives me warm fuzzies knowing that a film can be loved regardless of its reputation. P3 may be the black sheep of its franchise but everything about it, from its all-practical effects and mirror play to its cursed history is just all kinds of interesting. Webmaster Dave is an inspiration; give him a visit HERE!

So there's my five favorite fansites but there must be many more. Do any of you guys out there know of, or operate any movie fansites that you think we should all check out? Feel free to leave any links you can think of in the comments!

Traumafessions :: Reader Jami J.R. on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Tom & Jerry

Posted on By aunt john

There are four things that truly terrify me. Chill me to the bone:

1. The thought that one day MICHAEL JACKSON's children might breed with BRITNEY SPEARS' kids.

Okay, really I'm just kidding there. It's really three things:

1. Fast speeds. I hate them. I get panic attack when attempting to drive on freeways – when someone else is driving I'm okay, however. I refuse to go on roller coasters. I don't even like to watch car races. I can't drive over 55.

2. Those ear bugs from STAR TREK 2: THE WRATH OF KHAN. *shudders* To this day I can barely stand to watch any scene involving them. I can still remember hiding under the blanket at the movie theater when we saw that and my brothers making fun of me for it. I still worry that bugs will crawl into my ear and take over my brain – and I'm 34 years old!

3. This one ending scene of an episode of TOM & JERRY. Jerry makes friends with a baby duck Tom wants to eat. The end of that episode shows Jerry and the duckling at the beach when suddenly Tom POPS out of nowhere and slams a bucket over them. He's laughing evilly as his head lowers down and he starts to raise the bucket just enough to get them. That's the end.

Even as a small child who still thought that babies came from the stork, I never thought Tom would actually eat them. No, I thought of my parents' warnings of strangers and their BAD TOUCHES. To beware of the man in the trench coat offering little girls and boys candy. In that moment Tom, the ever hungry and thwarted cat, became the Evil Stranger looking to kidnap children to sate his unnatural lust.

Wow – my parents really screwed me up there, didn't they?