Trauma (2003)

 

Picture: B     Sound: B-     Extras: B+     Film: B

 

 

Dario Argento’s 1993 film Trauma falls into the category as some of the films that followed like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream, and Urban Legends.  Although before you stop reading this and roll your eyes in disgust, think twice.  This film actually is surprisingly better than those films could even dream to be because it’s not nearly as pretentious and actually has a better director behind the reigns.  This is perhaps Argento at some of his best cultish filmmaking.  At least in a technical sense the film creates a more intense and mysterious atmosphere that is sometimes lacking in the horror genre. 

 

Argento’s daughter Asia stars as the young psychiatric patient who has escaped and soon finds herself in the hands of a young man wanting to help her, but she is quickly caught and sent back to her parents, which doesn’t last long as they are soon killed.  Now she must hunt down the killer before she is at the end of the knife and with the help of her new friend/lover the chase is underway.  Now what might seem like a fairly overdone storyline, this one actually takes quite a few twists and turns making for some interesting filmmaking and allows the film to move forward at a formal pace. 

 

The films 1.85 X 1 anamorphic transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 mix are both reasonably well done in many respects, but are not demo quality by any stretch of the imagination.  The image seems a bit too dark at times and perhaps even grainy, but overall fairly pleasing.  The 5.1 is limited as it is only Dolby and not DTS, unlike some of the other Argento films available through Anchor Bay (see the review here on the site for Suspiria). 

 

Extras are where this DVD shines nicely with a commentary track with author Alan Jones (Argento would have been a nice addition), also a nice ‘Love, Death, and Trauma’ featurette that plays like a behind the scenes type of program.  The really great bonus though is the on-set feature with Tom Savini, who is a great asset to this film and the believability of the gore moments.  Savini is quite interesting and adds a nice touch to this segment.  Deleted scenes and the theatrical trailer are also added and Anchor Bay did this film great justice by adding these extras regardless of how popular the film is. 

 

You don’t necessarily have to be a fan of Dario Argento to enjoy this film and if you ARE a fan of him you may find this film to be one of his better more recent films.  In many respects this is probably one of his least known, yet gains great attention in the extras department making this a possible track down title for horror enthusiasts.

 

 

-   Nate Goss