View source for Trauma (1993 film)

{{Short description|1993 film by Dario Argento}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Trauma
| image          = TraumaPoster.jpg
| caption        = Italian theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Dario Argento]]
| producer       = Dario Argento<br />Chris Beckman<br />David Pash
| screenplay = Dario Argento<br/>[[T.E.D. Klein|Eibon Klein]]<br/>Ruth Jessup
| story          = [[Franco Ferrini]]<br />Gianni Romoli<br />Dario Argento
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Christopher Rydell]]
* [[Asia Argento]]
* [[James Russo]]
* [[Laura Johnson]]
* [[Frederic Forrest]]
* [[Brad Dourif]]
* [[Piper Laurie]]
}}
| music          = [[Pino Donaggio]]
| cinematography = [[Raffaele Mertes]]
| editing        = Bennett Goldberg<br/>Dario Argento
| studio         = ADC Films<br/>Overseas FilmGroup
| distributor    = [[Republic Pictures]]
| released       = {{film date|1993|03|12|Italy|1993|10|02|[[Vancouver International Film Festival]]|1993|10|29|U.S.|df=yes}}
| runtime        = 106 minutes
| country        = Italy
| language       = English
| budget         = $7 million <small>(est.)</small>
}}
'''''Trauma''''' is a 1993 Italian ''[[giallo]]'' film directed by [[Dario Argento]] and starring [[Asia Argento]], [[Christopher Rydell]], [[Piper Laurie]], and [[Frederic Forrest]]. Set in [[Minneapolis|Minneapolis, Minnesota]], it follows a troubled teenage girl who, with the help of a boyfriend, attempts to stop a serial killer who murdered her parents.
It was one of two films Argento directed in the United States outside of his native Italy, the other being the 1990 [[anthology film]] ''[[Two Evil Eyes]]''.
==Plot==
In [[Minneapolis]], chiropractic nurse Georgia Jackson stays after-hours at her practice during a rainstorm to meet a new patient. Upon arrival, Georgia thinks she recognizes the patient, before they brutally decapitate her with an electric-powered wire [[garrote]] and disembark with her severed head.
The next day, Aura Petrescu, a troubled young [[Romanian Americans|Romanian immigrant]] suffering from a severe [[eating disorder]], escapes from a local [[psychiatric hospital]] and is saved from a suicide attempt on a bridge by David Parsons, a [[sobriety|sober]] drug addict and television newswriter. Aura is soon caught by police, and returned to the home of her parents, Adriana and Stefan. That night, Adriana, a fraudulent [[psychic]], holds a [[séance]] for a group of locals seeking the identity of a local [[serial killer]] known as the "Head Hunter". Aura flees the house, and is pursued by Adriana and Stefan into the woods, where both are met by the killer, who decapitates them using the same method.
David allows Aura to stay with him at his lakeside home, but is alarmed when he finds her [[Bulimia nervosa|binging and purging]] the contents of his kitchen. Meanwhile, a young local boy, Gabriel, breaks into a neighbor's house when his pet lizard crawls through their open window. Inside, he discovers the electric garrote, and is unknowingly in the residence of the killer.
While editing news stories about the killer's crimes, David realizes the killer appears to only strike during rainstorms. Meanwhile, Aura ventures into the city to shop at a farmer's market, where she is spotted by Dr. Judd, her obsessive former psychologist, who chases after her before forcing her to return to his home with him. Judd forces Aura to consume berries that produce psychedelic effects, causing her to recall memories of the night her parents were killed. Aura subsequently awakens in the hospital during a rainstorm. The killer arrives, murdering an orderly and decapitating Hilda Volkman, a night nurse, while a drugged Aura attempts to flee. She is saved by David, who has arrived to help her escape. Aura brings with her a keychain dropped by Hilda in the hospital hallway, which includes a key to a storage unit. Gabriel, meanwhile, notices the killer return home that night from his bedroom window, and watches as the gloved individual removes Hilda's severed head from a satchel.
The next morning, David and Aura venture to the storage unit to investigate. Inside, they find postcards and photographs of Hilda with her fellow nurses, among them the deceased Georgia. David identifies one of the nurses as Linda Quirk. David and Aura drive to Linda's home, which is nearby, but she flees by car when she sees them arrive. They track Linda to a local hotel, where they check in as guests in a room below hers. The killer soon arrives, triggering the fire sprinklers in Linda's room before decapitating her as well.
In a last-ditch effort, David tracks down Dr. Lloyd, the murdered nurses' superior who has since lost his medical career and descended into a life of destitution and drug addiction. Lloyd is reticent to speak with David. That night, the killer murders Lloyd in his apartment building by holding his head beneath a descending [[elevator]]. David awakens in the middle of the night to find Judd attacking Aura. Judd flees as police arrive, fatally crashing his car. In the trunk, police find the severed heads of Georgia, Hilda, Linda, and Lloyd, and conclude Judd was the killer. After police leave, David finds Aura missing and an apparent suicide note.
Some time later, David, who has lapsed back into addiction and lost his job, sees a cloaked figure in the city wearing a distinctive bracelet Aura owned. He follows the individual to their residence, and is noticed by Gabriel, who is playing outside. David breaks into the home, and finds a nursery with the desiccated corpse of a decapitated infant, before Adriana appears and knocks him unconscious. He awakens and finds himself locked in the basement, alongside Aura—it is revealed that Adriana is in fact the killer, who faked her death, framed Judd, and kidnapped Aura. Adriana has sought vengeance against Lloyd and his nurses, who accidentally cut off her newborn son Nicolas's head during his delivery, due to clumsiness combined with a sudden [[power outage]] caused by a thunderstorm. To cover up the accident, the nurses and Dr. Lloyd involuntarily subjected Adriana to [[Electroconvulsive therapy|electroshock treatment]] in hopes of erasing her memory of Nicolas's botched delivery and death. A deranged Adriana prepares to kill both Aura and David, but Gabriel breaks into the house and steals her garrote. Adriana instead brandishes a firepoker, but is stopped by Gabriel, who uses the garrote to kill her. Police arrive thereafter, as David comforts a hysterical Aura.
==Cast==
{{cast list|
* [[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
* Ira Belgrade as Arnie
* [[Brad Dourif]] as Dr. Lloyd
* Hope Alexander-Willis as Linda Quirk
* Sharon Barr as Hilda Volkman
* Isabell O'Connor as Georgia Jackson
* Tommy Lentsch as Ambulance Driver
*Cory Garvin as Gabriel Pickering
*Terry Perkins as Mrs. Pickering
*[[Jacqueline Kim]] as Alice
}}
==Production==
Shot in and around [[Minneapolis]], United States in August and September 1992 on a budget of $7 million,{{sfn|Jones|2005|p=215}} ''Trauma'' is notable as Italian director Dario Argento's first feature-length American production, following his collaboration with [[George A. Romero]] in making ''[[Two Evil Eyes]]'' in 1990. Adapting the treatment devised by Gianni Romoli and long-time Argento collaborator [[Franco Ferrini]], Argento chose [[T.E.D. Klein]] as his co-writer.
Special effects expert [[Tom Savini]], who had previously worked on ''Two Evil Eyes'', was recruited to produce the films extensive gore and [[prosthetic]] effects. Savini also created the film's central murder weapon, dubbed the "Noose-o-Matic" by the crew.{{sfn|Jones|2005|p=221}} Savini devised a number of elaborate effects, but they were scrapped when Argento decided to minimize his trademark gore; according to Savini, "Edge-of-the-seat suspense is what he was after".{{sfn|Jones|2005|p=221}} Savini was also set to appear in a scrapped pre-credits sequence where his character was to be decapitated in an accident, an event that would trigger the killer's [[psychosis]].{{sfn|Jones|2005|p=221}}
The character played by Asia Argento, timing showing she was 17 during filming, is inspired by her half-sister Anna ([[Daria Nicolodi]]'s daughter from a previous marriage) who actually suffered from anorexia. Anna died in a scooter accident in 1994 shortly after the film's release, but she is seen in the actual movie during the closing credits dancing in the balcony.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}
Dario Argento's usual- collaborating rock-band [[Goblin (band)|Goblin]] were originally suggested to write and perform the music score for the film, but were declined by the American producers who wanted something more friendly to the American audience; therefore, [[Pino Donaggio]]'s orchestral score was used. In the closing credits, a [[reggae]] song is performed by [[Innocent Mafalingundi]] and his band [[Les Exodus]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104053// |title=Trauma (1993) - IMDb |work=[[IMDb]] |access-date=September 11, 2022}}</ref> It crossfades into Donaggio's "Ruby Rain", sung by Laura Evan to lyrics by [[Paolo Steffan]], which appears earlier in the film too.{{sfn|Howarth|2020}}
==Release==
''Trauma'' opened in Italy on 12 March 1993.{{sfn|Howarth|2020|p=233}} It later screened at the [[Vancouver International Film Festival]] on 2 October 1993,<ref name=van>{{cite news|work=[[Vancouver Sun]]|date=1 October 1993|page=66|title=Vancouver International Film Festival: Mini-Programme - The First Weekend|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107041580/}}</ref> and opened in Minneapolis at the [[University of Minnesota]]'s Film Society on 29 October 1993.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107041451/|date=28 October 1993|page=4|title=This year, find fright on film|last=Backsai|first=Andrew|work=[[St. Cloud Times]]|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
===Critical reception===
''[[Slant Magazine]]'' called ''Trauma'' "a bizarre, psychologically repressive thriller that smacks of lesser [[Brian De Palma|De Palma]]" that is "convoluted to the point of distraction, worth savoring solely for Argento's excesses of gore."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/trauma/359 |title=Trauma – Film Review |last=Gonzalez |first=Ed |date=5 December 2001 |work=[[Slant Magazine]] |access-date=29 July 2012}}</ref> It currently has an approval rating of 50% on movie [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 6 reviews.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1046180-trauma/ |title=Trauma (Dario Argento's Trauma) - Rotten Tomatoes |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=March 21, 2020}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], it has an average score of 64 out of 100, based on reviews from 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web |title=Trauma |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/trauma/ |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=July 28, 2024 }}</ref>
===Home media===
''Trauma'' was released on [[VHS]] in the United States by Worldvision Video on 23 March 1994.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[New York Daily News]]|title=Graphic Gore and More at Trauma's Center|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107045538/|via=Newspapers.com|page=35}}</ref> [[Anchor Bay Entertainment]] released the film on [[DVD]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Slant Magazine]]|title=DVD Review: Dario Argento's Trauma on Anchor Bay Entertainment|date=16 August 2005|last=Gonzalez|first=Ed|url-status=live|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/trauma-dvd/|archive-date=6 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806060126/https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/trauma-dvd/}}</ref> In September 2021, [[Vinegar Syndrome (company)|Vinegar Syndrome]] released the film for the first time on [[Blu-ray]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3684259/vinegar-syndromes-black-friday-flash-pre-order-live-new-releases-including-dario-argentos-trauma/|work=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|title=Vinegar Syndrome's Black Friday Flash Pre-Order is Live With New Releases Including Dario Argento's 'Trauma'|last=Squires|first=Jon|date=24 September 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008181024/https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3684259/vinegar-syndromes-black-friday-flash-pre-order-live-new-releases-including-dario-argentos-trauma/|archive-date=8 October 2021}}</ref>
==Alternate versions==
* A special uncut version reportedly available on video features seven minutes of footage omitted from foreign prints, including:
** a new introduction of the Aura and David characters: David drives Grace to the airport and sees Aura being beaten by a man whose plane ticket she tried to steal;
** a new scene features Grace visiting David at the TV station and asking him about Aura. David invites Grace to his house and then calls Aura at home to ask her if she needs any food; Aura lies to him and says she's already eaten;
** Aura visits a market and is spotted by Dr. Jarvis, who tries to catch her;
** After David and Aura escape from the Marigold, she tells him she's taken a little souvenir from Nurse Volkmann's purse; another new shot shows the Marigold's owner talking to the police;
** David checks into a hotel after following Linda Quirk's car and asks for a room overlooking the parking lot;
** David asks for information about Dr. Lloyd in a saloon;
** After David calls Grace and asks her for prescription forms, she meets and confronts him, trying to make him face the fact that he's become a junkie;
** The death scenes of Linda Quirck and of the killer are more graphic (the wire is seen cutting through Linda's neck).
* The [[British Board of Film Classification]] cut the UK video release by six seconds. There are two cuts, both to shots of wire cutting into the necks of Linda and Adriana. However, these cuts were waived in 2002, and all subsequent [[DVD]] releases are uncut.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/0/4E86346E1F34CED780256BE4002CBC83?OpenDocument |title=TRAUMA rated 18 by the BBFC |work=[[British Board of Film Classification|bbfc.co.uk]] |access-date=29 July 2012}}</ref> All UK video and DVD releases contain the shorter version.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Sources==
* {{cite book|last=Howarth|first=Troy|year=2020|title=Murder by Design: The Unsane Cinema of Dario Argento|publisher=Midnight Marquee Press|location=Baltimore, Maryland|isbn=978-1-644-30115-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Jones |first=Alan |title=Profondo Argento: The Man, The Myths and the Magic |publisher=FAB Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-903254-24-0 }}
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0104053|Trauma}}
{{Dario Argento}}
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[[Category:1993 films]]
[[Category:1993 horror films]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s slasher films]]
[[Category:English-language Italian films]]
[[Category:Films about addiction]]
[[Category:Films about eating disorders]]
[[Category:Films directed by Dario Argento]]
[[Category:Films scored by Pino Donaggio]]
[[Category:Films set in Minneapolis]]
[[Category:Films set in psychiatric hospitals]]
[[Category:Films shot in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Dario Argento]]
[[Category:Foreign films set in the United States]]
[[Category:Giallo films]]
[[Category:Italian horror films]]
[[Category:Italian slasher films]]
[[Category:English-language horror films]]