Trauma

Dario Argento fans tend to fade 1993's Trauma. They're not entirely wrong - it's not on par with Argento's twin horror masterpieces of the late 70's, Deep Red and Suspiria. (I'm also a fan of 1982's bizarre Tenebrae). Those films aren't really all that different from Trauma; they're just bigger, bolder, stranger and of course, far more gory.



That's what's most noticeable about Trauma (other than the obvious constraints of its low budget). Gore master Tom Savini (most famous for his work with George Romero on the Dead movies) did the make-up effects, but they're strangely muted. The movie is violent, but it should be far far more violent. I mean, it's a low-budget Italian serial killer movie! Come on!

For some strange reason, Argento's storyline has all the characters killed in exactly the same way, which doesn't really make for a thrilling and non-repetitive movie. Even though the killer's preferred method of death-dispensing - decapitation using an electric-powered wire serving as a noose - looks cool, it's hardly visually exciting enough to sustain 5 different murder scenes.

Argento had told essentially this same story countless times before. A young woman (his daughter Asia Argento) and her confidant (massive goober Christopher Rydell, best remembered for his roles in 80's teen comedies like Gotcha! and The Sure Thing) track down the serial killer who murdered her parents (Dominique Serrand and Piper Laurie, pictured above received shock treatments). Done.

So why does everything feel so off? There are several pitch-perfect sequences, including a delightful scene in which Brad Dourif, playing a sleazy ex-doctor, is killed using an elevator, but the movie just never amounts to anything. It never comes alive, despite a lot of ingenuity and energy that obviously went in.

Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't note that it's very strange Argento directed his own daughter in this role. She's playing a 16 year old anorexic sex kitten. There is gratuitous nudity and sex involved (which reminds me...Asia Argento has the nicest anorexic breasts I've ever seen!) I'm trying to think of another filmmaker who has directed his own daughter in such a role, and am coming up blank...Suggestions?

(And, no, Woody Allen doesn't count...Only publicly released films, please. No home movies.)