I was very young when I saw this, in fact, I have told many people that it is my first memory ever.
It's a scene where a lady and a man are running from a large group of men. This is taking place in the woods (I think). The man and women come to a clearing and hide behind something. They notice a strange looking scarecrow with one eye and I think the eye is slightly looking at them. When the group after them comes to the clearing they are trying to find out which way the couple went. All of a sudden the scarecrow's eyes open wide and there is a ringing sound. I believe the scarecrow is pointing at the man and woman with both arms. The group sees them and the running continues.
To make everything a little more traumatic the scarecrow's face is very monkey-like. Could be a PLANET OF THE APES variation or something, but I have never been able to find it. I don't know what I'd do if you found it, but I know how amazing you are at finding this stuff.
Thanks for your time and efforts!!
UPDATE: NAME THAT TRAUMA SOLVED! Thanks to Reader Ab-Normal for solving it with LIVE AND LET DIE.
UNK SEZ: Hey kids, here is a special traumafession from CHRIS McKINLEY, the producer and editor of one of one of our favorite fliks, MURDER LOVES KILLERS TOO, which is now available on DVD! Check it out and make sure you check out MLKT!
I'm with the folks who had commercials as their first run-in with things creepy or ridiculous. Long before I was allowed to see anything above PG, advertisers were doing work on my impressionable little brain. In my case, no advertiser gets more credit than the US Government.
The public service announcements for the War on Drugs get at least partial credit for warping my young sense of humor. Before I ever saw my first FRIDAY flick, those wonderful PSA's taught me that some of the funniest stuff on film comes from people playing material completely straight.
I gotta hope whoever actually put the spots together also secretly thought they were hilarious. Some of the humor in the spots was a little more subtle, (even though the "I wanna be a nurse" moment in this one is still laugh out loud funny to me):
But at some point they kicked it up a notch, and we started getting PAUL REUBENS, serious as a heart attack but in full on Pee-Wee character, talking about crack… with the best sound effects ever. I think this was a series with other actors doing spots too:
However… it looks like the best example is one that I never saw growing up, but would have loved. While looking these others up, I came across this GREMLINS PSA from New South Wales:
Really? Drinking & drugs are bad?? ‘Cause it looks to me like those Gremlins are destructively partying their asses off with zero consequences while Gizmo has storytime with a square Chinese dude. But maybe that's just me.
NOTE: Read more about super cool MAXX FX over at good ol' FANGORIA!
I had to see MARTYRS since everyone seemed to be talking about it. The problem was, I was just not in the mood. I know the French have been kicking ass lately in the horror arena, but lately I have been more keen on the goofy spitball fun of a film like DRAG ME TO HELL rather than the drag me through the mud endurance test of something like FRONTIER(S). I mean I loved FRONTIER(S), but it left me covered with a layer of mental soap scum that even OXI CLEAN could not remove. From what I had heard about MARTYRS it was not exactly TEEN WITCH. Horror cred be damned, when I was honest with myself, I thought I'd rather be hanging out in Stars Hollow than chained to a metal chair in an abandoned warehouse being spoon-fed gruel for two hours.
Much of that apprehension was lifted in an introduction to the film available on the DVD where director PASCAL LAUGIER invited me to hate his movie as much as I liked, and that I should feel free to hate him on a personal level too. When he added that he was not so sure if he liked the movie or himself either, I was putty in his hands. (I just can't resist self effacement, like letter writing and macramé, it's a dead art. ) Plus, PASCAL was standing in front of what appeared to be his impressive DVD library (size does matter); I think I've found my new BFF! When can I come over?
So as it turns out my new pal, that little rascal PASCAL, made a very powerful movie that yours truly happily did not enjoy in the least! I kept flashing back to my older brother's non-hilarious routine of holding my head under water in the family swimming pool until I was nearly dead. MARTYRS is just merciless. I wanted to turn it off a million times but I couldn't. It's absolute torture, plain and simple, sparked by moments of serene beauty and peace. It's exactly the horrible, yet gratifying experience I was afraid it was going to be. Good job PASCAL, you nut!
Set up like a FRANCIS BACON triptych, the first part is a nasty revenge flick, the second, psychological horror (some great stuff about nursing your own demons there) and the third part is…wholly crap… I dunno, TURISTAS interpreted by TARKOVSKY? All I know is that it made my little head hurt. Some complain that the film's conclusion reads like an empty afterthought to justify its ape shit violence, but I disagree. I think the intention was to put the viewer through a similar spirit-breaking desensitizing ordeal as the film's protagonists. PASCAL then brilliantly leaves some empty canvas for the viewer to paint themselves (a literal white space in one instance). Are you a victim to the film's violence and see nothing, or are you a MARTYR who sees more?
MARTYRS is about as much fun as a baby on an airplane, but as it forces you to think about the horror of human cruelty. It also takes time to honor the endurance of those who suffer and to salve their wounds. When in the heart of its bleakest moment a character conjures the voice of a dead loved one to spur her further on, it sprouts a rose in a field of manure whose fragrance over powers all. Like a sonnet written with a blood-soaked mop or a lullaby with crashing symbol accompaniment, MARTYRS' harsh delivery might be a hurdle for some, but there is something here beyond the savagery. Scratching off the upper layer of deceptive sadism will reveal a film with a healthy fascination with the choices one makes in response to hardship and the very human question of whether it is all worth it. PASCAL, consider me a reluctant convert.
Hi, my name is ritrat8.
I had accidentally watched something traumatic one night. It involved a woman and a man, and the man kept repeating what the woman said, so the woman said something around the lines of, "I will break every bone in your body!"
The man was about to repeat what she said, when she does just that, and the man flies around the room like a popped balloon.
Does this sound familiar?
AUNT JOHN SEZ: I have no idea what this movie is, but it sure does put me in the mood for some Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians:
UPDATE: NAME THAT TRAUMA SOLVED! Ritrat8 figured it out! The balloon man in question comes from A SIMPLE WISH:
NOTE: Learn more about PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES over HERE
Little is known about Mother Nature besides the fact that she is bonkers for butter, hates to be corrected and will jam a lightening bolt up your backside if you cross her. Many films have been made depicting her infamous fury and relentless grudge against mankind. Below are ten random images from ten such films. How many can you correctly identify?
