Trauma
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Movie Reviews of Trauma
Movie Review: Excellent Giallo by Dario Argento
Summary: 4 Stars
When it came to the 90s most horror filmmakers who got their start in the late 60s and the 70s featured a major drop off in their work in the 90s. Most filmmakers as they get older don't get better. Of course there are always exceptions. In the case of Dario Argento's Trauma where most filmmakers from his era were on the decline, Dario was one of the few who still managed to put together a solid film.
From the 90s to even now, some of the great horror filmmakers made their weakest and even worst films of their career. Argento isn't free of that either. But Trauma in my opinion is a very solid Giallo by Dario Argento. Of all the films by Iconic horror filmmakers in the 90s Trauma I believe is one of the best. As fans we cannot help, but compare a filmmaker's later work to their early work. Trauma doesn't have the tension and dread of films like Deep Red or Tenebre; While visually Trauma is well done, it's Argento so that goes without saying, but no the film isn't as visually stunning as Suspiria and Inferno.
But even with those factors it doesn't make Trauma a bad film at all. Several times through out Dario Argento shows flashes of what made him such a loved filmmaker. There are moments with some solid tension even if it isn't as solid as Argento's prior work.
The script by Dario Argento & T.E.D. Klein is well written; I think that even the biggest of Dario Argento fans can agree that while, not a bad writer by any means the screenplays weren't the strongest parts of his movies. Even though Trauma may not be his best picture, I do believe it's one of Argento's better written movies. As I stated before the tension and dread isn't as well done as some of his other movies, but there is still some solid suspenseful moments in Trauma.
The scenes are well paced there are some slow moments, but Argento never lets it get boring. The pace of the movie moves well and Argento creates some decent tension. The acting is pretty good; while none of the performances will blow you away the actors do a fine job. Christopher Rydell delivers a solid performance and Asia Argento shows great promise, which I believe she lived up to.
Both Rydell and Asia Argento are able to make their characters very likeable and have a rather solid script to work with. The anorexia aspect of the movie actually plays out well. Its obvious Argento took the time and put care into it. I personally think that helped add a lot more depth to the movie and added the depth of the characters.
The score by Pino Donaggio is well done, but it does sound too much like the typical American thriller. While I did like the score, I have to be honest I would have preferred Goblin, which is what Argento originally wanted.
The look of the movie is quite well done, which is something Argento's movies are known for. Good movie or not they always have a great style to them. Like I stated earlier from a visual side you won't find another Suspiria or Inferno, but regardless the visual style is well done.
My only real complaint is the gore. Despite what a lot of people say, Argento movies really aren't known for their gore. While yes, some of his work does feature gore, but I wouldn't in any way call them gore movies, and quite honestly Argento doesn't need gore to make his movies work. Most of the time the murders are so beautifully shot the last thing on our mind is the gore.
But the reason it bothers me here a bit is logic would tell you if you get bashed in the head with a hammer you will bleed. When dealing with decapitations well you are gonna bleed. Even though the make up F/X were done by Tom Savini there isn't very much of the red stuff. But the decapitations look great. In no way do they look fake; it's just that when dealing with murders like that you need more than just some blood running down the neck. Despite all that the F/X looks excellent.
In my personal opinion Trauma is an excellent and much underrated movie by Dario Argento. Granted it may not be as solid as some his earlier work, but it can stand proud next to them even if not as good. I think fans of Dario Argento should give this another try, while it's hard not to compare this to his earlier work if you take the movie for what it is you'll see it is a solid movie in a time when most of the Iconic horror filmmakers were on a major decline in product. For those new to Argento I would recommend watching his earlier stuff first and working your way up to Trauma.
In closing, while Trauma may not be one of Dario Argento's best movies, it still is well done and some what suspenseful Giallo with an excellent mystery.
Movie Review: 7/10. Better than you might think
Summary: 4 Stars
This film seems to be the least loved post-Deep Red Argento film. It's not one of his better movies, overall, but I actually think it's better than 'The Stendahl Syndrome' or 'Sleepless', and certainly better than that crapathon 'Phantom of the Opera'. (Though those films would probably be a lot more enjoyable if they had a decent DVD relase) Yeah, it is fairly American-ized, but this isn't an entirely bad thing. To wit, it isn't nearly as incoherent as most of his other recent films. Furthermore, this has some of the best performances of any of his films. It's sad that he didn't put a bit more into the death scenes, or this could've been one of his best movie. (Course, that's quite a big just, as the death scenes and setpieces are what make his best films so cool) They aren't bad, certainly, a lot nice gliding steadicam, but the kills themselves are kinda dull, as they're all the same. (The killer has an automatic decapitating machine, which is less interesting than it sounds.) Still, despite the straight thriller trappings, the plot does degenerate into your standard giallo-ism, i.e. false endings, faked deaths, killer whose identity is incredibly unlikely for a variety of reasons, clues which a so subtle and esoteric as to be virtually worthless etc. Oddly enough, this combination kinda works, combining a somewhat more believable, controlled investigation with a wild, over the top final act.
All right, the plot's like this, there's a murderer, who is murdering people, and a variety of characters who do not wish to be murdered, and thus decide to prevent it. Also, one of these people is troubled and anorexic, which doesn't get too much in the way of the main plot, fortunately. (Also, they don't try and get the police too involved in all this, cause that wouldn't be very sporting.) The main not wanna be murdereders are Aura and David, played by Asia Argento and Christopher Rydell. Neither of them are particularly interesting, but what do you expect. They're certainly more naturalistic than your typical Argento protagonists, but they kinda lack presonality, in spite of Aura's problems. (She's the anorexic one_ Other than that no one matters too much, though you do have an assortment of oddball random characters i.e. dorky little kid who sees too much, crazy as hell doctor etc.
What can I say, this movie is a little more wacky than your typical Argento movie, kinda like 'Phenomena. It just kinda lurches from each plot development to the next, each more random and unusual than the last. Still, the individual scenes do tend to work on a conventional dramatic level, again partially due to the conventional American styling. The scene where Aura's parents get wasted is particularly nice, if conventional, and the major stalking scene in the hospital is very well done. If it had some nice gruesome, traditional Argento butchery in it it would be totally top notch. Still, this film has some interesting violence. Tom Savini does the gore, so it's naturally of heigh quality. It mostly consists of a few severed head props and various shots of wire digging into the victims neck.
Sadly, it's got a traditional, orchestrated Hollywood score, nowhere near as good as the stuff you'd usually here in an Argento film. But, you can't have it all.
All in all, a pretty cool film. It's probably more of an Argento film than you'd think, considering what you've likely heard about it. Also, I'm feeling stupid right now, so this excessively informal review might make it seem like I view this as a camp film. I don't. It's got some weirdness, for sure, but it works if you can get into it, which I can.
p.s. Asia Argento briefly gets nude in this movie. She was only a teenager at the time, so if you find yourself.... aroused by this scene, you need to report yourself to the FBI immediately. Sorry. It's your duty. Though lotsa people are bound to mention this, it is kinda weird to have your teenage daughter get naked in your movie. I don't care what country your from. Also, it's utterly gratuitous, which makes it all the more... odd.
Grade: B-
Movie Review: Argento's best post-1987 work...
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm a huge Dario Argento fan, but like most of his fans, have been very disappointed by his post-1987 work, which ranges from mediocre to abysmal. This film, finally available in its uncut form at 106 minutes (most VHS version ran around 86 minutes) and widescreen, is a lot better than almost all of Argento's work after 1987. It isn't perfect, but it's very watchable and quite extraordinary at times.
This was Argento's first foray into American filmmaking, and while that could have been a recipe for disaster, it's not. The film is extremely well shot, with some fantastic camera work (it wouldn't be an Argento film if it wasn't), a surprisingly good performance by Dario's daugher Asia (most of Dario's films have mediocre to bad acting), and a somewhat coherent plot. It's also nice to see actors who aren't badly dubbed into English for once in his work. All of the dialogue is in English here. Christopher Rydell, the lead actor, is pretty good, and some of the supporting actors (especially Rydell's boss at the TV station) are surprisingly good. Unfortunately, the dialogue isn't very good, the music score is very, very conventional, and James Russo's police detective has some scenes that just jump into the film without a moment's notice. There are highly questionable character motivations, and the fact that Asia Argento's character is anoxeric really doesn't have any point other than she's anoxeric. Dario doesn't really explore this plot point at all, other than a striking shot from a moving car that focuses on overly thin women. But the revelation at the end of the film is quite shocking and strikingly shot, and it does pack quite a jolt. There are some intense scenes, especially when a boy from the neighborhood is spying on a person who might be the killer. There's not much gore here, and Tom Savini's effects don't really stand out like they do on other films. The only really memorable gore scene is when a woman's head is sawed off, and the head still manages to talk to Rydell. There's also a scene in an asylum that's really surreal and memorable.
If you are a Dario Argento film, you should really watch this. There's a lot in it to enjoy, especially since this DVD is the uncut version. Dario has always had problems with distributors in this country on almost every movie he's made, and it hasn't been gore that's the problem. They always leave all the gore in; they just hack up the plot, making the films even more incoherent. Make sure you check this one out. It's one of Argento's most underrated, and the best film from his later period (even though I haven't seen everything from that period).
Movie Review: Bellissimo.
Summary: 4 Stars
My four star rating is only in comparison to Argentos previous work, this still destroy's mostly anything else that does'nt have Agento's name on it. Trauma walks a fine line between 'classic' Argento and a failure to live up to his previous standards. If you compare it shot-by-shot (like I have) to his best work it's really not that far off, but as a whole it doesn't come close to film's like Suspiria, Tenebre, Deep Red, Opera ect. While it does'nt reach the level of those film's those are pretty high standards, and I'd still rather watch this than well...non-Argento film's. The special effects are done by Tom Savini (talk about a match made in heaven!!!!) and there are some pretty great effect's and gore, but the deaths are'nt as 'beautiful' (bellissimo!!!) as his earlier film's. Sadly Trauma was intended to be Dario's goriest film but the suits had to interfere. Argento and Savini were very upset by this (as am I), some more gore really would have upped the ante.
There is no Goblin music in this one which kind of hurts the rating but the orchestral score was still pretty good. I'd be lying if I said I did'nt miss the Goblin boys though.
Overall Trauma is a must see for fan's of Argento, there are pleny of classic Argento qualities like great lighting and cinematography, awesomely bizarre plot lines, and good death scenes, just don't go expecting Suspiria or anything. Highly recommended.
Movie Review: Argento in Minnesota!
Summary: 4 Stars
Trauma is Argento's American giallo film. It's quite Americanized, but unmistakably Argento. The plot concerns Rydell(who looks a little like Brenden Fraser at times) who stops a young anorexic girl(Asia Argento) from committing suicide, and then gets tangled up with her psychological baggage as well as a black gloved killer(of course) who's after Argento. The killer's modus operandi this time around is decapitating victims with a handy dandy little power tool soon to be available at your nearest Sears Craftsman Tool department. Why is the killer doing this? Who is the killer? Watch it and see. Naturally this is a wonderfully shot film, but a bit toned down from Argento's previous works. Good performances all around, but Rydell and Argento are especially good together. We also get a cameo from everyone's favorite B movie character actor, Brad Dourif. It's also a bit creepy that Asia has a brief topless scene considering she was only 16 at the time, and her father is the director. Those wacky Italians! All in all Trauma doesn't make my Aregento top five films list, but because it is Argento it's better than just about everything else out there in the same genre. See it before they remake it.