Trauma (1993) Movie Review
Written by: ML
Edited by: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Dario Argento
Producers: Dario Argento, Chris Beckman, David Pash
Writers: Dario Argento, Elbon Klein, Ruth Jessup
Date Released: March 12, 1993
Cast:
Christopher Rydell as David Parsons
Asia Argento as Aura Petrescu
Piper Laurie as Adriana Petrescu
Frederic Forrest as Dr. Judd
Laura Johnson as Grace Harrington
Dominique Serrand as Stefan Petrescu
James Russo as Capt. Travis
Brad Dourif as Dr. Lloyd
et. al.
Rating = 3/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
The story is about an anorexic girl Aura who was found by David on the bridge as she tries to commit suicide. They had a connection and found each other again after a serial killer killed her parents through decapitation using an automatic noose. Together, they try to solve the mystery of the serial killer, discovered the truth, and eventually end up as captives but saved by a young boy.
Gore Factor
The opening sequence showed the gruesome death of the chiropractor and the way the serial killer commits the murders. The most notable of all the beheadings and decapitations include the close-ups of the bloody neck and how the wire tightens. Of all the beheading effects, the memorable ones include the talking head on the floor, the elevator shaft beheading, and the head rolling on the floor.
The Grave Review
The great but sometimes exaggerated acting from Christopher Rydell and Dario Argento’s daughter Asia made the story believable, though it was a bit awkward that they made a love story with their 12-year age gap.
Story aside, the camerawork was good in this movie. In most parts of the film, audiences were placed on the point of view of the killer up until the big reveal. It gave the suspense a more thrilling ride, showing what the killer sees and the zooming in towards the bloody mess.
The best part is how the movie successfully diverted the attention of the audiences to a character that was not the killer. The almost 2 hours of twists and turns were mind-blowing.
The most shocking part of this horror suspense was the revelation at the end where the killer was finally given a face of Aura’s mother. The killings were then revealed to be an act of revenge for what happened in the past. The backstory of the newborn baby accidentally beheaded while being delivered led to explanation as to why the mother has to take revenge on all the hospital staff by beheading them as well. The staff also made her forget what happened by forcing her to undergo electroshock therapy.
The only problem is the lack of explanation about the cause of the anorexia. There were no evidences of a mother and daughter relationship. Even the ending was not believable since the mother and daughter had no connection. Another missing explanation was the role of the child to the story if he is a reincarnation of Nicholas aside from being the savior.
Overall, this movie is recommended if you love murder mysteries with mind-blowing twists and revelations.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Trauma (1993) three graves out of five graves.
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