kindertrauma

Martyrs

Posted on By unkle lancifer

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.

Name That Trauma :: Reader Ritrat8 on a Man Made Into a Balloon

Posted on By aunt john

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:

Kindertrauma Funhouse!

Posted on By unkle lancifer

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?

Name That Trauma :: Reader Curtis D. on a Trio of Traumatizers

Posted on By aunt john

Over the years with the help of Internet, etc., I've been able to track down early memories of movies. But there are three instances that I can't figure out.

1. My earliest memory of watching a movie at the drive in was at age 5, seeing the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE; it was a double feature with BIG BAD MAMA. Sometime around the same time, 1974, I remember seeing a movie that showed a cliff with dolls or dolls' heads being thrown over it. Also in the same movie I remember a killer lurking outside of a house that had several women inside lounging. The biggest impression was the dolls heads going over the cliff. I have yet to figure out what movie this is.

2. My other memory could be a T.V. movie, so bear with me. It had scenes of a man digging in the yard during a thunderstorm or he was making a woman dig in the yard. The other scene I remember from the same movie had the woman in an upstairs room or attic and it's dark and she runs into, or was scared of, one of those half mannequins used to tailor dresses.

3. And now the third movie I believe I saw late one night on T.V. It had to do with a girls school and the head mother was keeping her dead son in the attic and she was killing the girls or trying to make one of them her dead son's girlfriend. It wasn't set in the ‘80s or even the ‘70s; it felt older than that.

Any help on these would be greatly appreciated…

Thank you.

Curtis D.

UNK SEZ:: Curtis, the first two you mentioned have me stumped but I think I may know the third. It sounds a lot like 1969's THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED (A.K.A. LA RESIDENCIA) a great movie that used to be shown on ELVIRA's MOVIE MACABRE (You can actually watch it on HULU HERE.) Let us know if that's the one!

Traumafessions :: Reader Ralphus on the Darkside of Debbie Harry

Posted on By unkle lancifer

As a boy watching TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE: THE MOVIE, I couldn't help being envious of young MATTHEW LAWRENCE. To me, his involvement as the prisoner of DEBORAH HARRY seemed both terrorizing and titillating. DEBBIE is calm and cool, caging this boy and getting ready to cook him for dinner. Meanwhile, the middle LAWRENCE child desperately reads stories from this book in an attempt to distract her, and hopefully keep himself off the menu. My point being that at a young age, I found myself completely attracted to Chef DEBBIE's dominance over little MATTHEW. Even though it would have been terrifying, I always wished that I could switch places and be that boy in the cage, while the Blonde One pre-heated the oven, as well as my libido. Was I the only youngster to be turned on by this scenario? I still think TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE: THE MOVIE holds up today as a great and scary film, and my fantasies of being Ms. HARRY's little pet to be devoured have never gone away. Eat to that beat!

UNK SEZ: Ralphus, I second your love of DEBBIE but maybe not the cage thing so much. Did you know that currently you can watch TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE: THE MOVIE on the Youtubes starting HERE? Plus, check out this traumafession on the movie's segment THE CAT FROM HELL right around over HERE!

An American Werewolf in London

Posted on By unkle lancifer

I suppose it was only a matter of time until a remake was announced for 1981s AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. It's only one of the best horror films ever made so I'm sort of surprised it took them this long. (I guess its lackluster 1997 "sequel" AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS probably slowed things down.) All I know is that no matter how good the remake might end up, it will never have the atomic bomb effect on me that the original did. You see, that crazy movie had the nerve to land smack dab in the middle of a horror movie that was happening in my own life: a horror movie called "puberty". Although that time period is far, far in the rear view mirror, AMERICAN WEREWOLF will always bring to my mind the fear of losing control of my body and the confusing rush of energy that made me kind of like it.

I realize that the interwebs are the ultimate mixed company, so I'll spare you the gruesome details and keep my paws on the table at all times. The sad, dreary, basic truth is that JOHN LANDIS' lycanthropic opus pushed sweet innocent me off a cliff and I have not seen that poor creature since. Up until then adulthood was a destination that I thought was cater made for unimaginative rubes. The prospect of jumping on the coffin conveyer belt did not appeal to me in the slightest. You could pitch fame and fortune to me until the cows came home; I did not care; I wanted to be alone with my STAR WARS figurines. The shower scene in AMERICAN WEREWOLF between DAVID NAUGHTON and JENNY AGUTTER changed all that; this mortal coil now had my full attention. Sure, I was still torn between which of those fine thespians to ogle, but I rightfully figured that eventually that would all come out in the wash.

Truth be told, the avalanche of early eighties body transformation movies ALL seemed to be directly speaking to my guilt ridden, yet wide-eyed and bushy-tailed libido in training wheels; CAT PEOPLE (If you touch me I'll turn into a monster!) THE HOWLING (Everybody is in on this secret except me!) THE BEAST WITHIN (My parents must never know of the creature I've become!),VIDEODROME ( Holy crap. I'm like a RICK JAMES level Super Freak!) and even JOHN CARPENTER'S THE THING (A young me stands up in class, raises his hand and says, "Here!") The general that lead this dysmorphic brigade though, had to have been none other than AMERICAN WEREWOLF. Gosh, they even ventured inside a porno movie theater in that one, plus it was the first time I ever heard the term "quickie."

Putting lasciviousness aside, AMERICAN WEREWOLF successfully popped the top off of every other bottle in my six-pack as well. It scared the living daylights out of me (I still remember the spooky, at dusk, trek home after the movie.) It made me laugh my head off with sick glee (The dead woman in the movie theater smiling through bloody teeth helpfully offering, "You just put the gun to your forehead and pull the trigger!" as a way for our hero to escape his dilemma, still cracks me up), and, call me a softy, but the authentic affection shared between NAUGHTON and AGUTTER actually did seem like a worthwhile experience to shelve my action figures for. It's not the easiest thing in the world to incorporate all of these divergent elements together so smoothly but while JOHN LANDIS was kicking my ass out of childhood, he made a kick ass movie as well, one whose potency might be very hard to emulate in this day and age. Good luck remake people! You'll need it!

NOTE: It is important to note that Mr. DAVID NAUGHTON was successfully able to elbow JENNY AGUTTER out of the ogle race eventually (not that the WALKABOUT star didn't put up a good fight). What can I say? I guess was born to be a "Pepper!"

Name That Trauma :: Reader Mathew M. on Kung Fu Vampires

Posted on By aunt john

There is a film I watched in the mid ‘80s on the USA network, so it was probably on Commander USA's Groovie Movies. My memories of it are not too strong, but I think it was a vampire/martial arts flick or vampire circus flick. Now, I know that both of those types of movies aired on the network at that time, so even that might not even be correct.

What I do know for certain: There was a fighting sequence that took place in a (saloon, church, circus? not really sure) that involved throwing someone over a banister on a stairwell and jumping and landing directly on their stomach, forcing what seemed like lots of blood to come out of their mouth. This image has stayed with me my entire life.

The memory of this action sequence is what leads me to believe that there were martial arts involved in this horror film. I know this could not be any more vague, but please help me!

Love your site!

Mathew

Name That Trauma :: Reader Moises C. on a Bow-Legged, Killer Beast

Posted on By aunt john

Hello there! I just discovered your site today while spending a good deal of time trying to identify a movie that I only remember a few parts of, and it seriously spooked me at the time!

I hoped maybe someone would be able to help me pin a name to it. It may have been a made-for-television movie along the lines of DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, but I'm really not sure. It would have been on either Superhost or one of the other mid-day movie shows in the early eighties. The movie MAY have been about monsters or aliens that were monsters. I thought there were three of them and they all had different attributes, though I recall that one of them was dark and hairy, possibly with those backward-kneed, bandy legs a satyr might have.

At one point there is a scene where a man hears noises in his basement and goes to investigate. He flips on the light and this hairy thing is standing right there and proceeds to kill him! (This, I don't mind telling you, still crosses my mind whenever I go to flip on the light in my parents basement!!!)

Really creepy.

Then there is another scene where a man is standing outside in the snow and there is a shot of these hairy monster legs and feet walking up behind him and crunching the snow. This creature is killed I think, but not before strangling the man. And I'm afraid that's all I remember. As I said these monsters may have been aliens.

WHAT IS THIS MOVIE??!!! It's driving me NUTS!!!

I appreciate any help anyone can give me on this one.

Many thanks!

UPDATE: NAME THAT TRAUMA SOLVED! Huge thanks to Reader ElderMarsh for getting a leg up on THE ALIEN FACTOR!