Name That Trauma :: Reader Carol McM. on a Killer Crossdresser
Dear Kindertrauma,
When I was very small, in the late ‘70s, I watched a movie on T.V. that seems to me was in color and made in the late ‘60s or early ‘70s. I think there was a "woman" who invited a few, select, people over for an extended stay in her huge mansion and I think they start dying.
Two parts I kind of remember are: a person wakes up in the middle of the night with a man standing at the foot of their bed in the shadows (but I also kind of remember that he goes back to that room twice and the second time gets hit on the head with something; and at one point we see the "woman" go into a room way, way in the back of her huge mansion house and see her take off her make-up – to show us that she is really a super creepy man (who snuck into people's rooms in the dark)!
That freaked the freak right out of me.
Does this rambling sound familiar to anyone?
Thank you so much for creating this amazing site!
Traumafessions :: Reader Mike on David: The David Rothenberg Story & The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima
I love your website even though I have not watched most of the films you have there. Turns out I was (maybe still am) the most scared little girl out there. I was scared of "IT" which a lot of people have talked about & of THE EXORCIST add to that the fact that I'm Catholic so it just gets worse for me. But here are two things that I remember that scared the crap out of me:
1 – There was a movie called DAVID: THE DAVID ROTHENBERG STORY about a kid whose parents divorced & his dad takes him to Disneyland then proceeds to burn him while he sleeps in a waterbed in their motel room. David does live after this happens though. This terrified me because (here's where my imagination took off & I scared myself) I used to live in a house 4 houses away from the local drug point (as in drug dealers hung out) & it also happened to be the park which they would in turn shoot the light posts so if the cops came no one could see their faces. Well I was terrified cause my parents would park their cars in our driveway & I would think that the drug dealers in their way to the park would be smoking, throw away their cigarette which would then get lit up & cause a spark from the oil that our cars leaked. This would then cause my house to explode into fire & I would die. Needless to say my mom never let me watch many scary movies. Another part that was creepy was the weird song he sang at the end of the movie or in the beginning I don't remember but I think it was "It's A Small World."
2. This one is for Catholic kids though… There was a movie that the used to show us as kids in Catholic school about the miracle of the Fatima virgin. The Virgin Mary appeared to these 3 kids in Fatima & what not & at the end of the movie it would tell you that if you were good enough you'd just might get visited by Mary like the kids. I don't know if any other kid was like me but I was scared as hell that Mary would appear to me at the end of my bed or something. I don't know why because it's supposed to be good if that does happen but if I still think about Mary appearing to me I still get that creepy/scary feeling I got as a kid just not so intensely. Ironic though cause if I think Jesus would appear to me I wouldn't be scared at all.
There's Something NOT in The Fog
Oh THE FOG, even when I don't feel like watching anything I can still watch THE FOG. As soon as JOHN CARPENTER's haunting score begins, forget it, I know I'm going to be transfixed until the closing credits float by. It's just such a splendid ghost story and the atmosphere is so convincingly dank I can actually smell the salty air. (In fact, I feel like if my air conditioner should ever break down I could just put in my FOG disc and it could cool the room with comparable results.) CARPENTER wisely calls forth two of the great gods of ghostly storytelling here, both H.P. LOVECRAFT and ARTHUR MACHEN are given nods, and you can almost sense them looking down upon the proceedings with approval. CARPENTER's impeccable use of shadow and the widescreen frame are present throughout and there's a keen sense of place that is uncanny and rare. If it only existed, who amongst you wouldn't want to take a trip to Antonio Bay?
To me, THE FOG shimmers and glows on all fronts but during a recent viewing, I was particularly impressed by the respectful way it treats its multitude of characters. As written by one of the greatest collaborative horror teams of all time, JOHN CARPENTER and the late great DEBRA HILL, we are shown a symbiotic multi-generational community of equals who all play a believable part in overthrowing a supernatural menace. No character is ever shown as being of lesser value than another and even though one might want to automatically cram TOM ATKINS into the role of "hero," the truth is, his actions and screen time are comparable to nearly everybody else around him.
If you think about it, this approach is rather unusual in the world of horror. Usually you'll find some kind of forced drama or conflict between the characters and almost always some folks are presented as "good" and other folks (usually those who are killed) are presented as "bad." In 1980, while everyone was busy trying to duplicate CARPENTER and HILL's previous theatrical horror effort HALLOWEEN, JOHN and DEBRA seemed to have been making a great effort to work against their earlier, now more common design. Hell, we're even given some elbow room to sympathize with the vengeful zombie ghosts causing all the ruckus. You have to admit, the betrayed, leprous crew of the "Elizabeth Dane" do have a valid, honest to goodness beef. Yes, they mean to kill six people but from what we're shown in the movie, it's nothing personal.
There is much to be found in THE FOG, I notice new things every time I watch it but what impresses me the most is what's NOT in THE FOG, how it smoothly twists and snakes itself around genre clichés. This is my favorite type of film, its creators know what they are doing and are committed to telling a story rather than randomly stitching together scenes designed to appeal to its target audience's base expectations. Let's say we turn on the lighthouse and take a closer look at what's NOT in THE FOG:
Young Andy is NOT shown as a precocious brat with his head hypnotized by the latest gadget. He is NOT shown as incapable of sitting still long enough to listen to a story.
Mr. Machen, an older gentleman, is NOT shown as an object of ridicule and scorn. He is NOT presented as crazy or suffering from dementia.
Stevie Wayne is a single mother who is NOT shown as harried or incomplete. She is NOT shown longing for a male suitor.
Dan has a thing for Stevie. He is NOT depicted as a sleazy stalker just because he knows a good thing when he hears one.
Elizabeth Solley is NOT judged for having sex. She is NOT depicted as someone without aspirations or an inner life. The camera does NOT linger on her famous boobage.
Nick is NOT in his early twenties. We are NOT awarded gratuitous visuals of his wash board abs. He is NOT wearing designer jeans. He is NOT a douche.
Kathy Williams is a woman of a certain age in a position of power. Miraculously, great effort is NOT made to depict her as a bitch.
Nancy is Kathy's assistant, she is NOT shown as an incompetent moron.
Father Malone is a religious man who is NOT painted as corrupt, mustache twirling hypocrite.
Nick is NOT seen as soft just because he cares about the well being of his friends. Elizabeth is NOT shown to be unaffected by death.
This black guy is NOT used for comic relief.
Mrs. Kobritz is a babysitter, she is NOT sixteen years old.
These people are NOT shown to suddenly have incredible fighting skills when encountering zombie ghosts.
Our heroes are NOT depicted as unfazed by supernatural attack.
Blake does NOT talk your ear off.
Father Malone does NOT say things like, "Leper me entertain you bitch!" or, "Church is in session Blake, first sermon is your ass on the collection plate!" during the film's finale.
The ending is NOT happy. (But it sure is awesome!)
People are NOT always important in horror movies but they're always important in GOOD horror movies. Am I bonkers for thinking there is a correlation between a filmmaker's understanding of the people they depict on screen and their level of understanding of those filling the chairs in the audience? THE FOG is laudable for its high regard towards its characters, regardless of age or sex. (Please notice that regard is NOT born from political correctness but from genuine interest.) I don't mean to oversell you here. in a way, the characterizations I've mentioned are merely sketches but they are sketches without condescension or disdain and as far as I can see, that's menthol fresh.
This FOG also pulsates with an exemplary awareness and reverence toward the past that is NOT hip by today's standards. This FOG is also NOT too butch to ask its literary influences for directions.
I've heard some describe THE FOG as "dated" and perhaps they're right. It certainly brings to my mind an approach to horror storytelling sadly left far behind (you need only watch the 2005 remake to get a crystal clear view of just how far we have NOT come.) Speaking for myself, I will never NOT love JOHN CARPENTER's THE FOG, and it will never NOT rank high on my list of all time favorites. What's in it is amazing and what's NOT in it is even more so.
Traumafessions :: Joshua Grannell (a.k.a. Peaches Christ), Writer/Director of ALL ABOUT EVIL on the Charms of Leatherface and Freddy!
I think my earliest memory of truly being traumatized by a movie experience had to be seeing a VHS rental of the original TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE at an elementary school birthday party. I have a distinct memory of this kiddie party being held in a finished basement where the parents were upstairs while fourth-graders played party games below, like pin the tail on the donkey and seven minutes in heaven. Anyhow, we stuck in this tape and I knew right away that this was something very adult, that we shouldn't be watching. The opening flashing images felt gritty and real in a way that movies hadn't before. It was exhilarating. The corpse shot at the end of the credits sequence terrified and fascinated me. As the movie continued to play the other kids got bored and ran around doing other things. I sat and watched the movie. The whole thing. It was the most upsetting, horrific thing I'd ever experienced and I loved it so much. All of it! I couldn't stop thinking about Leatherface, his mask, his family, his chainsaw. I drew pictures of him in class, thought about what (or who) he and his father were having for dinner, and if they'd ever get caught. I don't think I was truly convinced it wasn't real. I think it may have changed my life.
Shortly thereafter a trip to the video shop took on new meaning. How could I convince my mom to allow me to rent completely inappropriate things? She'd protest and not let me get what I wanted, but I launched a campaign. One weekend, my little brother and I stayed with our aunt and she took us to the video store where I was able to pull the wool over her eyes and convince her that we'd seen THE EXORCIST and CUJO before, even though we hadn't. I think I picked movies based on their cover art and these two looked real good, especially CUJO. Shortly after THE EXORCIST began my aunt went to bed and my brother and I stayed up and watched both movies. Again, captivated and terrified. They were effective and I loved that feeling of being so effectively frightened by something. I soon became obsessed with these films as well and knew I had to seek out more STEPHEN KING, and movies about Catholic scary shit.
I came back from that weekend at my aunt's and proudly boasted to my mother that my brother and I watched R-rated movies. This seemed to piss her off, but also worked to wear her down. The next time we were at the video store and I begged and begged for A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, and she relented. It had just come out on video and I knew it involved a killer with finger-knives. I HAD TO SEE IT! Well, we got home and popped it in that night and I worked myself up into a frenzy of fear from the very start. The opening titles alone! I can now see why title designs are so important to me. They set the whole tone. I almost had to turn it off. Later on, at the point where those razor fingers come up slowly out of the water in the bathtub, I thought I was having a heart attack. No lie! I thought I might die. Finishing the film felt like a triumph and my love affair with Leatherface sorta ended and Freddy became my new long-time childhood mistress. I was obsessed with Freddy. I wanted to hang out with Freddy. I was in love with Freddy. All these years later, I look back on those formative traumas and can see how important they were. I'm still in love with Freddy, the ROBERT ENGLUND one.
UNK SEZ: Thanks JOSHUA/PEACHES, for the super excellent traumafession! I should also thank you for creating ALL ABOUT EVIL; I swear this may be the first time in my and Aunt John's four hundred year old marriage where we are both equally enthusiastic about seeing the same movie!
Kids, make sure you check out ALL ABOUT EVIL's official site HERE so that you can see when it's coming to your neck of the woods! This fantastic flick not only stars the incomparable NATASHA LYONNE but also showcases our heroes CASSANDRA PETERSON (ELVIRA, of course!) and MINK STOLE (Who, once upon a time, I saw on Philadelphia's South street. I asked her for her autograph and she was sweet as hell and gave it to me and didn't even punch me like some celebrities might!)
Above all else check out the trailer for ALL ABOUT EVIL below; if it doesn't stroke your appetite for hilarity fueled mayhem then you really need to reevaluate your existence… pronto! Seriously silly rabbits, GO SEE THIS MOVIE, otherwise it means you're just trying not to have fun on purpose!
STOP THE PRESSES! Need more PEACHES in your diet? Allow me to recommend PEACHES' super fine horror and cult themed blog which you can stumble into HERE! You guys are going to love the four-part article on Italian horror by ROBERT BARBER and you'll also find insightful film reviews and updates on PEACHES' actions and whereabouts! Go PEACHES!
Traumafessions :: Reader Count Otto Black on Un Chien Andalou & "The New Mother"
Dear Curator of Nursery Terata –
Since you seem to like this sort of thing, here's a merry tale of something that made a ghastly impression on my impressionable young mind. Luckily few children are likely to be exposed to this particular bogey by mistake (and hopefully none at all on purpose), but those unlucky few have my deepest sympathies.
When I was about 10, I was surfing the then-available British T.V. channels (all 3 of them) in search of random mid-morning diversion when I happened upon an Open University programme about the history of art just in time to be treated to a clip from LUIS BUNUEL and SALVADOR DALI's film UN CHIEN ANDALOU. It was the eye-slashing scene…
Not having a clue where such a thing could possibly have come from (obviously I switched off before anything worse could happen), for about 15 years I honestly thought I'd hallucinated that image until I finally saw the whole film. Beat that for nightmare fodder!
Talking of which, I'm surprised that you don't seem to be aware of Lucy Lane Clifford's "Anyhow Stories," undoubtedly an all-time pre-school trauma classic which makes "Struwwelpeter" seem almost tame by comparison. To appreciate the full horror of this kiddies' bedtime favourite of yesteryear to which many, many helpless infants were exposed on purpose, you need to hear it read aloud. Which, happily, you can do HERE.
I particularly recommend "The New Mother," a story so utterly terrifying that it has been included in horror anthologies for adults! And award yourself a pinch of fairy dust if you can work out the moral. If you ask me, it's "don't trust evil mom," but surely that can't be right…?
Yours archetypally –
Count Otto Black (deceased)
Name That Trauma :: Reader Geri S. on Vicious Village People
Howdy!
First off, I've been a visitor for a while now and all I can say is awesome site. I have finally decided to write in seeking help in attempting to figure out the title of a bizarre movie from my childhood. For years, I've been trying to track it down. From what I remember, I watched it one afternoon on the Sci-Fi channel back in late ‘90s (the movie had to of been from the 1980s though) and it really disturbed me. I think it could have been from an anthology movie, but I'm not sure.
From what I can recall, it starts out with two middle aged guys driving, they drive through a thick fog or a mist and they end up in some weird village where they're treated with hostility. I think the villagers want to or plan on eating them, and I think they kill the one guy while the other is more or less the hero of the story. The main guy meets some girl who tries to help him escape. Near the end he tries to escape but can't make it out from the fog. The setting and atmosphere makes me think it might be British but I don't remember British accents.
I'd like to find out what it was as it really scared me back when I was a kid and would love to watch it again only to realize actually how terrible it was, as what happens with most movies from my childhood.
Thanks,
Geri
UPDATE: NAME THAT TRAUMA SOLVED! Kudos to craig for knowing that this trauma stemmed from THE MONSTER CLUB!
Kinder-News :: SPLICE Sequel Scrapped!
Regardless of its mostly positive critical reception it looks like plans for a SPLICE sequel are now being put on hold due to its lackluster box office receipts. The project tentatively titled SPLICE 2: DREN IN THE CITY was, until recently, on the fast track for a summer 2011 release. Insiders say the shutdown is for the best as early scripts, which involved genetic hybrid "Dren" traveling to Abu Dhabi to shop for shoes, were deemed by many to be in bad taste. One scene in particular, which found the celebrated chimera escorted to safety from an angry mob by a group of Muslim women, was deemed particularly objectionable. In the unfilmed scene, the sexy genetic mutation was to thank her rescuers profusely with chirps only to have the group of women lift up their burqas to expose mutant legs identical to those of Dren. How audiences would have reacted to such a controversial display is perhaps best left to the imagination. SPLICE fans may be confused as to how Dren, who not only changed sexes but also died in the first film, could shop for shoes anywhere much less Abu Dhabi. When asked to explain the inconsistency scriptwriter DYLAN McDILLWEED spelt "time machine" with Scrabble chips and then sprouted wings and flew away.
Traumafessions :: Reader Jodi on House (1986)
Being a kid is both wonderful and crappy, because, whether it's horror movies or Santa Claus, kids invest way too much emotion into a lot of smoke and mirrors!
A few days ago, my husband coaxed me into finally watching a movie that, in my youth, I had never been able to sit through. The film came out when I was in 2nd grade, and going by the advertisement (the gnarly severed hand ringing the doorbell over the tag line "Ding Dong, You're Dead") along with the scariest looking witch I'd ever seen, I was certain that it had to be the most terrifying horror movie ever made. That movie is 1986's HOUSE starring WILLIAM "believe it or not, I'm walking on air" KATT as a recently divorced writer who inherits the mind-f*cking house in which his crazy Aunt hung herself. And believe it or not, hilarity ensues!
Growing up, I thought the movie was simply about a guy in a house full of ghouls trying to kill him. Every time I came upon it on any film channel, once the witch showed up, :::click!::: I'm out! For a 7-year-old, that bitch was scary! After doing a search, I was surprised that Kindertrauma didn't seem to have much of anything on the film. And when I finally sat down to watch the entire thing; I just knew I was in for an intensely frightening gore fest.
Is there a contest for the most misleading poster EVER? Because I think I found the winner. Damn that corpsy hand! I'm not saying it was a bad movie (flawed script, but otherwise awesome), I'm just a little pissed off I was freaked out for 25 years by a creepy drawing and a dude in a rubber witch suit.
-Jodi
