Freddy Beans here with a review of an absolutely brutal and bloody film - TRAUMA.
I should start this one with a big warning, TRAUMA is not for the faint of heart. This is a movie that crosses uncomfortable borders early and then gleefully runs into the unknown. There are no pulled punches here, it’s an absolute onslaught on the senses and you will want a shower at the end of it all.
If that’s up your alley, keep reading.
Director Lucio A. Rojas makes as sure-handed an exploitation movie as you can. One part I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE and two parts A SERBIAN FILM mixed with sensibilities all it’s own. If you’re like me and find you need to seek out movies like SALO and CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, you must watch this one.
TRAUMA I must warn is full of graphic rape, extreme violence, and over the top gore. There’s a story hidden in here too, it’s just soaked in bloody matter.
The movie starts with Chilean despot Augusto Pinochet’s reign of terror personified on a tied up woman. She’s clearly been gang raped. They then reunite her with her husband before shooting him in the head. The lead interrogator shoots her son up with a liquid Viagra and you can guess the rest. Except it gets way worse than you’re imagining.
The film then shoots to modern-day Chile and a group of girls that are visiting the beautiful countryside. TRAUMA relies on great cinematography to give you the needed pauses to breathe. Once those girls ask for help in an unfriendly bar their future is set in motion. The man who assists them with the situation in the bar ends up a very big problem when he arrives at their rental with his son.
Juan (Daniel Antivilo) plays one of the most despicable characters you will ever see on screen. He’s vile, crass, disgusting and heartless, and Antivilo nails it. He’s scarred beyond repair and he bestows his pain upon the four women in horrific fashion. The rest plays out, as I mentioned, in I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE fashion. The aggrieved parties work to find Juan and that’s the story in a nutshell.
This extremely NSFW trailer pretty much sums up the movie.
The soundtrack by Ignacio Redard is awesome. I couldn’t find any of the great music I heard but I’m hoping that changes as this one gets airplay.
The actresses all do pretty fantastic work with thankless roles. They’re helpless fawns and the bear is at the mouth of the cave. This isn’t the DESCENT where the women have depth and strength. These women are cowards and simply let the chosen ones in their ranks suffer indignities, happy it isn’t them. I know people act like this in extreme settings, I just hoped for a little more depth than having them be defined by surface-level details.
That said, they play each of their roles quite well. I believe in the pain they suffer. And Juan does his part to exert as much of that as possible.
I can’t honestly recommend TRAUMA. I think it may be in my top three movies I’m surprised I finished. Yet, like always I’ve healed from my shock and am ready for the next one. I suppose that’s the point of movies like this. To leave you in a state of shock and unsure in your emotions. Kudo’s to you Lucio, that is a job accomplished!
6 out of 10 thrill seekers will want off this ride
Til next time, Kids!
- Freddy Beans
