kindertrauma

Traumafessions :: Reader Steve G. on Paperhouse

Posted on By aunt john

Hey there,

Poking about a bit, it appears you don't have an article yet about PAPERHOUSE. I got a deep little scar from that one a long time back that drove me to buy the film on laserdisc even though I don't have a player. Hasn't made it to DVD so far except overseas, but I see that it's on YouTube. Time to see if it's as disturbing as I recall:

Whoa, yeah.

UNK SEZ: Dear Steve, Thanks for bringing up PAPERHOUSE, a perfect film for the pages of Kindertrauma. I have not seen that one in a while but I remember being impressed with it as well. It was directed by BERNARD ROSE the same guy who delivered one of my all time favorites, CANDYMAN. For those interested, PAPERHOUSE involves a young girl named Anna (CHARLOTTE BURKE) who upon becoming ill begins to draw her way into another world. Whatever she adds to the drawing becomes real in this alternative landscape. This is a good thing when she adds a pal named Marc and a bad thing when she adds her long lost dad. Turns out Dad has a thing for hammers and Anna's dreamworld quickly becomes a nightmare. PAPERHOUSE leans toward psycological fantasy more than horror but there is no denying that Anna's pop is a real figure of menace. PAPERHOUSE is based on a book called MARIANNE DREAMS by CATHERINE STORR which also has a devout fan base. As you pointed out Steve, for the time being PAPERHOUSE can only be viewed on youtube or tracked down on VHS. Too bad Anna can't draw PAPERHOUSE onto DVD!

Phantasm vs. Star Wars

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Everybody knows that those little grave robbing critters from PHANTASM look exactly like those trash pickin' Jawa dudes from STAR WARS. Everybody also knows that STAR WARS came out in 1977 and PHANTASM came out in 1979. Some folks are telling me though that PHANTASM took several years to make and actually got to the miniature robed creatures first! Much like with every other debate that gets people all worked up and ready to blow things up, I like to take a "I could give a crap" stance. (Keep in mind, this is coming from somebody who knows firsthand that GEORGE LUCAS is a plagiarist on account of I invented the Ewok!) Can't we all just get along? To me STAR WARS and PHANTASM are two great tastes that taste great together just like peanut butter and jelly, LAVERNE & SHIRLEY and rainy days and nooses! Check these pix for more proof!

Phantasm

Posted on By unkle lancifer

How is it that as long as Kindertrauma has been in operation nobody has written a traumafession about DON COSCARELLI's 1979 horror opus PHANTASM? That flick made my hair stand on end as a kid! When I first saw it on VHS I was probably about the same age as its lead character Michael (A. MICHAEL BALDWIN). My identification with him was further cemented by the fact that I had a similar bizarre hair cut and a comparable inclination toward striped tube socks. Watching the film recently I am still in awe of it. So many other films have borrowed freely from PHANTASM that I have to remind myself just how groundbreaking it was at the time. Infusing sci-fi elements, dark fantasy and surrealistic dream logic into horror was not exactly the order of the day back in 1979, but COSCARELLI did so with gusto and he created a universe all his own that never existed before.

How about that "Tall Man" (ANGUS SCRIMM)?, How scary was that guy? Evilly looming above folks while they are trying to snooze, masquerading as the lady in lavender, yelling his signature "Boy!" (I know I just described Aunt John, but the tall man is even scarier), the tall man is really a stand in for death itself as PHANTASM, which truly lives up to its name, comes off as a feverish hallucination of a kid who is battling to accept the recent deaths in his family. Where do our dead loved ones go anyway? As it turns out in PHANTASM, they are shrunken down, forced to wear Jawa costumes and kept as slaves…comforting, huh? And how about that silver Cuisinart flying ball? Will somebody please get on making a parody youtube clip of BILLY MAYS trying to sell such a thing to the masses? (I'd do it myself, but I'm super swamped at the moment). This is a one of the kind movie that is just about as creatively inventive as it could be and please don't get me started on the soundtrack. The DVD is a must own for that reason alone.

I'm not sure how PHANTASM would hold up for first time viewers today. I'm sure the Muppet bug attack must look pretty lame by modern standards but I continue to be smitten. This is a movie that connects me to my youth almost instantly and I'll always love it for that. It's also a film that is noticeably guy-centric. Michael's character is preoccupied with the thought of being abandoned by his older brother and the film's idea of a peaceful existence is just hanging out drinking beer and playing guitar. Funeral home rifle attacks are planned before a roaring fire place and it's all sort of IRON JOHN by way of LOVECRAFT. There is almost a tree fort atmosphere here and the guys, rather than posturing and being competitive, have each other's backs. The female characters may be slight and on the sidelines (the mysteriousness of some rings true with an adolescent boy's perception), but it is also kind of refreshing that PHANTASM, for the most part, does not rely on their peril for scares.

Michael with his constant spying on his older sibling Jody (BILL THORNBURRY) and his need to be included in the investigation of the Morningside Mortuary perfectly captures that bubble in time when you could not wait to grow up and be included among the big kids. I think older brother Jody still reeks of coolness today and just think, his best bud and musical collaborator Reggie (REGGIE BANNISTER ) even drove an ice cream truck! Where were these guys when I was growing up? It's funny though; this movie that used to make me long for adulthood along with Michael now has the exact opposite effect on me. How cool would it be to ride a motorcycle through a graveyard right about now? Where are my binoculars? Point me toward a basement window to smash! Even if you don't find PHANTASM particularly scary anymore there is no denying that it is a fun comic book ride all the way. As for myself, I still get a bit of a chill when the Tall Man appears. No matter how old I get, that guy will always dwarf the tube sock wearing likes of me.

Kinder-Taining :: Ain't No Party Like The Baby Party, ‘Cause The Baby Party Don't Stop!

Posted on By aunt john

The Baby, 1973, Ruth Roman

Hello children, Aunt John here with another one of my sure-fire entertaining tips. Normally, when one thinks of a birthday party, certain elements come to mind: balloons, streamers, ice cream cake, pony rides, presents, and even a birthday boy or girl. While all of these are normally involved, I'm here to tell you to start thinking outside of the birthday gift box. You see, as a hostess renowned for nothing but the most lavish and memorable of shing-digs, your Aunt John learned everything there is to know about party throwing from the 1973 classic THE BABY.

Honestly, it doesn't take too much to be a hostess with the mostest, simply follow these ten easy steps:

The Baby, 1973, Ruth Roman

1. Parties should only be thrown as a cover for taking out your detractors. For example, say you are raising an adult child suffering from irreversible infantilism, and there is a pert-breasted social worker with ulterior motives nipping at your heels, invite her to a party at your house.

The Baby, 1973, Ruth Roman

2. Go through the usual motions: blow up some balloons, throw some streamers about, stock up the bar, and bake a cake (or to save time, buy a day-old one on the discount rack at your local supermarket). Make your home looks super festive so the target thinks she's at just another birthday party.

The Baby, 1973, Ruth Roman

3. Get your creepiest male friend (he really needs to wear a fringed suede jacket) to hit on the target. If anything, this will make her extremely uncomfortable and start the necessary pattern of distraction.

The Baby, 1973, Ruth Roman

4. As hostess, it's incumbent upon you to look your best and surround yourself with the hottest men in the room. Might I suggest donning an animal print metallic tunic, and surrounding yourself with poor-man equivalents of LESLIE NEILSEN and The Big Ragoo. Make sure the target sees how sexy you look.

The Baby, 1973, Ruth Roman

5. Get one your improbably good-looking daughters to engage the social worker in a friendly game of darts. Thanks to the target's competitive nature this friendly game will keep her eyes off her glass of punch. For added distraction, feel free to hire a TOM BOSLEY impersonator to cheer from the davenpaort.

The Baby, 1973, Ruth Roman

6. Make yourself the center of attention -- you are the hostess after all -- by luring the LESLIE NEILSEN look-a-like in the pleather coat to the dance floor. Don't be afraid to bust the forbidden, dare I say Lambada style, dance moves!

The Baby, 1973, Ruth Roman

7. Motion to your other, could-be-hot-but-has-the-weirdest-hair-ever, daughter to spike and switch out the target's glass of punch.

The Baby, 1973, Ruth Roman

8. Wait for the target to imbibe her freshly laced drink.

The Baby, 1973, Ruth Roman

9. When the sedative kicks in, quickly escort her from the party, under the guise that you will put her to bed. Take her to the basement and hog-tie her. She will be dealt with later.

The Baby, 1973, Ruth Roman

10. Head back to the party and get your drink on... you are the hostess after all!

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Traumafessions :: Reader Jen P. on Alice in Wonderland (1985)

Posted on By aunt john

Here's a good one for you guys! You know what scared the daylights out of me as a kid, and still today? The 1985 made-for-TV version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND, the one with all the celebrities. It was a great movie for kids! Minus the rather disturbing cameo by CAROL CHANNING, wherein she sings about jam and convulses, and even more frighteningly, when she just fucking loses it:

But, come the funk on, people. The movie was appropriate until you took the famed Jabberwocky, the dragon of Wonderland, and SENT IT BACK INTO REAL LIFE IN ALICE'S FREAKING LIVING ROOM. She thinks she's gone back home, and when she gets there, the house is empty. She sees her parents and her cat on the other side of the mirror, and of course, they can't see her. and she starts to read "Jabberwocky," and scary ‘effing music plays, and a giant monster comes into the room!

And if you thought that would be the fortunate end of the Jabberwocky, of course not. He appears yet again as soon as Alice is crowned Queen in Wonderland…this time, in the presence of nutjob CAROL CHANNING. TERRIFYING!

Oh hell, this is STILL my Kindertrauma.

The Fly 2

Posted on By unkle lancifer

I had such a splendorific time re-watching DAVID CRONENBERG's THE FLY that I thought it appropriate that I should give its 1989 sequel THE FLY 2 a spin. I remember seeing it when it initially came out and although I wasn't a giant fan at the time, I recalled that the special effects were pretty darn cool. Since super crappy THE EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC was able to somehow win my heart when I gave it a second look-see, who was to say the same would not occur again? Well, THE FLY 2 was to say that it would not occur again because, to me, it really does kinda stink some.

The tag line reads "Like Father, Like Son" but that's just all so much wishful thinking on the part of THE FLY 2. Unlike THE EXORCIST II which at least lubricates its lameness with intoxicating looneyness, this sequel is mostly pure drudgery through and through. It's actually just depressing and not the good kind of depressing either. I mean there is the romantic, honey-flavored, sigh on your bed and listen to THE CURE type of depressing and then there is the mildew smelling stare at a blank wall and have your soul raped by THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT type found here. From its opening shot, which resembles bad television more than a feature film, to its mucky torturous porridge slurping final shot, this film just won't let up with its blotchy blandness. Sadly the special effects that I remembered fondly didn't even have the decency to hold up (some are still pretty cool though, see above).

The movie begins with a dark haired lady that is supposed to be GEENA DAVIS's character Veronica giving birth and promptly dropping dead. This is all taken in by lone returner JOHN GETZ, the bad guy boss from the first movie, who, for his sake, I hope was wearing a fake beard. It turns out the Brundle baby Seth is not a giant maggot (which I think Veronica would have been pretty happy about if she wasn't pushing up daisies with Newt from ALIEN 3 and Alice from FRIDAY THE 13THE PART II), but he does have some accelerated age thing going on, and is kinda turning into a giant fly regardless of not being born a maggot and, worse of all, has to live his short bleak life uncannily resembling Rocky Dennis.

Sadly all the action takes place in these colorless fake looking science labs where you don't ever get a glimpse of the sun, but you do have to bump into DAPHNE ZUNIGA from time to time. There are plenty of mean scientists and security guards all over the place that act in such a way as to secure their own doom when Seth gets his insect on near the end of the picture and seeks revenge for his under a microscope upbringing and being secretly videotaped bumping uglies with ZUNIGA. There is nothing resembling a pace or even a pulse here, and you just sort of wait and wait for special effects artist turned director CHRIS WALAS to get to the underwhelming finale.

I can't really blame the producers for trying to snare a younger audience back in 1989 as Freddy Krueger was currently raking in major coinage, but the degree of dumbing down that takes place in THE FLY 2 is kinda infuriating. Some effort was made to do something a bit different than you might expect, but it's certainly not enough to make up for all the clunky foot dragging and the morose tone. I realize that the first FLY was not exactly the feel good movie of the century, but at least you were left with the feeling of joy that accompanies witnessing a job well done. I know that it would be madness to expect this sequel in particular to be on par with the original but, even giving it the most leeway I know how, it still leaves me with some sort of grubby feeling I can't explain…

…or maybe I can. Look, I know this is a horror film and in horror films bad, bad stuff is bound to occur but what befalls little Seth's only pal, a cute golden retriever, who ends up looking like one of my cat's fur balls spliced with a Vienna sausage, as they say, shouldn't happen to a dog. As much as I hate to admit it, I have to give the Devil his due here and admit that the whole howling mutant dog routine is pretty effective and certainly the stuff of Kindertraumas. To be honest, it may be the reason I find this movie so laborious to endure. Couldn't they have used ZUNIGA as a test subject instead?