It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas because our old pal Mickster has stopped by to host the annual holiday funhouse! This year she's picked various versions of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Good luck!
Traumafession:: Reader Walt on Burnt Offerings (1976)
Waaaay tooooo long, no talk.
Many moons ago you posted a few confessions from me (Reader Walt – way back in 2008). I've been away for a long time, but I haven't forgotten you guys! Over this time I had a complete trauma happen that finally put a button on a nightmare from when I was a little kid. This was really a "Name That Trauma" for me for years until recently.
I remembered watching a movie when I was REALLY young where a man's face crashes through a car's windshield and scares a boy sitting in the car. I know I had nightmares for years because of this. This image was seared into my brain. It wasn't until a few years ago when my wife wanted to re-watch "Burnt Offerings" with me (of course I married a horror movie fanatic). We get though most of the movie OK until the end when Oliver Reed jumps out the house window and "spoiler" crashes through the car's windshield with his son in the car.
At this moment, I stood up, moaned and pointed at the screen, much like Donald Sutherland in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." 'That's it!" I yelled. "That's the scene!"
My wife stared at me, unaware of the childhood trauma that was caused by this movie and how this almost cathartic moment has brought both closure and utter dread to me.
After explaining how this was an ever-running scene in my head and how I never quite knew if it was something I made up or an actual movie my parents let me watch when I was 7 years old, she was actually more upset that I hadn't watched such an iconic movie like "Burnt Offerings" in the last 25 years than the impact it had had on me.
I was just glad I had solved this KinderTrauma mystery.
I'm back to reading your site regularly and want to atone for being away from my favorite Aunt and Uncle for so long. Assume that Our Father's and Hail Mary's aren't going to be enough…
Traumafession:: Leslie G. on The Owl in The Secret of NIMH
Hey all,
Long time reader, first time submitter. I thought of you guys recently when my kids were watching The Secret of NIMH. I had forgotten how frightening the giant owl is in that movie. I remember being terrified of him as a kid. There's something about those glowing yellow eyes. My children (who are 7 and 9) watched him totally unfazed. I guess they are not scaredy-cats like their mom. What is wrong with them?
Thanks for listening,
Leslie
UNK SEZ: Leslie, I love me some SECRET OF NIMH! I agree, that owl is scary and he should be because he's voiced by horror legend JOHN CARRADINE! I say, you are right and your kids are wrong.
The Shallows (2016)
About a month ago I was trekking home from a dead-media hunting excursion when I happened upon a granny-esque abode with a LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY-style sidewalk-level basement window. Behind the glass stood a bird but not the type of bird you'd expect to see indoors. It wasn't a colorful pet shop parakeet that escaped from its cage but more like a common sparrow that lost its way. As I paused in my tracks to stare, it turned around and disappeared behind ancient sun-bleached pom-pom trimmed curtains. It couldn't belong there; something was off. It must have gotten trapped inside? I was compelled to knock on the front door to let the homeowner know but nobody answered…the place was as dead as a tomb. My bags were heavy so I vowed to come back later when hopefully lights would be on.
That bird was going to starve and the whole house would smell of death and worse of all this was a TERRIBLE OMEN of future catastrophe! I went back to the house a couple times but nobody was ever there. What could I do? Who do you call? Maybe I should just smash the window, run and hope for the best? How did this even happen when a closer inspection of the window revealed that it clearly had a screen? Did I imagine the bird (I don't always hallucinate but when I do, I hallucinate animals in peril)? I began to rationalize and think, "Hey, isn't it better to starve in a basement than to get eaten by a cat or hit by a car or freeze?" Maybe this bird was lucky. Also, I'm being a hypocrite; how dare I feign concern for this one bird when I'm likely to be chomping on a chicken in the very near future? What does one bird matter on this conveyor belt of ruin we call existence anyway?
The answer to that question is in THE SHALLOWS. Yes, this is still a film review! THE SHALLOWS is supposed to be about a surfer gal (BLAKE LIVELY) trying not to be eaten by a CGI shark but it's actually about how facing your own demise can clarify your understanding that all life has value.
Let me tell you, there are some humans in this movie and there are a bunch of assorted sea creatures as well, but rising superstar SULLY SEAGULL (who portrays injured bird "Steven Seagull") effortlessly waddles away with the whole darn show. When LIVELY'S character Nancy finds herself stranded on a rock in shark infested waters slowly frying to death all seems lost. Luckily, a felicitous twist of fate lands a sidekick-ready bird with a broken wing and a buoyant disposition upon the same precarious perch. The two develop a bond based on their mutual desire to eat lunch rather than be lunch and medical student Nancy even mends her new pal's wing without any hope for financial gain (!!!). It's as if Nancy is lost in a pitch-black cave and her basic humanity towards a creature more vulnerable than herself provides enough light for her to find her way out. Or maybe I just adore this seagull. He even gets a featured star picture on the back of the DVD! Right on!
I'm no oceanographer or seagull specialist but I feel safe in assuming that THE SHALLOWS plays fast and loose with anything regarding science and/or reality to the point of being borderline preposterous (especially in regards to how the menace is ultimately eradicated). I'm way OK with that though on account of it is gloriously pretty and borderline poetic in places and can therefore be digested as an expressionistic anxiety dream. The important thing is, no matter how over the top and unlikely it sometimes gets, THE SHALLOWS is consistently suspenseful and if you allow it, maybe even semi-deep (see what I did?). Plus it's from director JUAME COLLET-SERRA who gave us HOUSE OF WAX (2005) and ORPHAN(2009) so it's got that going on too. Right?
It's possible I'm just an easy mark for this type of flick. It pretty much swims the same laps as survival favorites like BLACK WATER, THE REEF and both of the OPEN WATER jaunts and that's fine by me. I certainly would have liked to have been able to connect with LIVELY's opaque character a bit more but maybe that's her fault for ignoring the age old advice on never working with animals or children. Anyway, there's no resolution to my bird trapped in a basement window story that I started this post with. I'm going with the convenient (for me) theory that I imagined the whole thing (or more likely, caught a reflection in the glass?) while also vowing to spread breadcrumbs in the park for any possible bird relatives- just in case. The bitter truth though, whether it's imagined or not- it's still a BAD OMEN. Anyway, Sully, wherever you are, nice work! Hope to see you in a seagull-centered sequel!
Sunday Streaming:: Fortress (1985)
Even though the super suspenseful mid-eighties cable staple FORTRESS (1985) isn't exactly a Christmas movie, there's no denying that if features one of the scariest Santa Claus masks of all time! Don't believe me? Check out the images above and below and click HERE to read a classic traumafession on the matter! Better yet, watch the movie below before it's swiped off the YouTubes! Heck, it even stars your favorite human RACHEL WARD of NIGHT SCHOOL (1981) and THE FINAL TERROR (1983) fame! How can you go wrong? You can't!
Name That Trauma:: Vlad from Ghoul A Go-Go on a Fearsome Phone Call
Hello,
Vlad here, from Ghoul A Go-Go,
When I was around 7, I caught this movie, probably on channel 9(NY). 40 years later I'm still asking people for help in identifying it.The scene that stuck with me (and has even made its way into my dreams) is of a woman answering the telephone. The phone is on a small table, possibly in a hallway. A look of fear comes across the woman's face as we hear a creepy whispering voice from the telephone repeat a few words: house, doll, ball, lamb…. Then we see what's disturbing the lady. On the boarder of the table are decals of what the voice is naming: a house, a doll, etc… Those may not be the exact words/pictures but that's the idea. The only other clue I have is that I would say it had the look and colors of a British production, late 60s early 70s. Probably not Hammer though.
Kindertrauma Rewind Christmas Special
Jump into the time machine and visit KT's Christmas past! Yep, it's a clip show.
12 Movie Characters Not To Invite to Your Holiday Party!
Silent Night, Deadly Night: All of 'em!
Kindertrauma Funhouse :: Xmas Horror!
Kinder-Spotlight :: Christmas Evil!
Avalanche of Christmas Horror!
Traumafessions: Unk on The Little Drummer Boy.
Official Traumatizer: The Spirit of Christmas (1950)
How Unk Got His Christmas Groove Back!
Black Christmas: Do You See What I See?
Spot The Difference Krampus Puzzle!
PLUS: there's still time to order from last year's Kindertrauma Christmas Catalog 2015! The good old days. Merry Christmas!
Traumafession:: Danielle P. on SpongeBob SquarePants and Very Naughty Hot Sauce
Hello, Kindertrauma. I'm 14 years old, a bit younger than everyone else on this site, but I was scared of some things as a kid as well, and I only want to confess fears I've gotten over. Today I want to bring to your attention a scene from SpongeBob that used to scare me as a kid. It's from the episode "Karate Choppers".
Now, in this episode, SpongeBob and Sandy are karate fighting. During their match, Sandy grabs SpongeBob's tongue and takes out a bottle of hot sauce and starts to pour a drop on his tongue. SpongeBob is terrified, as he's freaking out, we zoom in on the drop of hot sauce, and all of a sudden, the screen goes dark and this creepy as hell human face appears on the drop, laughing evilly and rolling its eyes around. Then it says in a gravelly voice, "BY THE POWERS OF NAUGHTINESS, I COMMAND THIS PARTICULAR DROP OF HOT SAUCE TO BE REALLY, REALLY HOT!" and then we go back to SpongeBob and Sandy like nothing happened.
Yeezus on a bike, did that scare me! I remember when I first saw the episode 10 years ago, I actually started crying when the face showed up (granted I cried when I was scared a lot) and didn't even remember the whole "powers of naughtiness" bit until four years later when I would browse transcripts on Spongepedia. I only saw the scene twice as a kid, and I remember the second time, my mom told me the face was Tom Kenny (which it is) but I didn't care! Every time the episode would come on after that, I'd change the channel or leave the room, I seriously avoided the episode for ten whole years!
Last year, though, I decided to voice my fear of it and tried to get myself over it, but when the episode came on again, I couldn't do it, I was scared! Fortunately, the scene appeared on the SpongeBob subreddit on Reddit and I made myself click on it and I got over it. Now I love that scene, but I will always remember avoiding the episode like the plague due to it. On the comments on that scene on YouTube, there's a lot of people who were also scared of it, so I'm not alone.
Cheers!
Traumafession:: Allison G. on Baron Samedi in Live and Let Die
Hi guys.
My movie trauma is the ending of the James Bond film Live and Let Die. I have never got over seeing Baron Samedi on the front of the train, laughing his head off! Just no!
