Trauma is a 1993 film directed by Dario Argento who also co-wrote the screenplay. The film can be described as a giallo, that is a film with influences from the horror, mystery, and thriller genres.
Plot synopsis
An anorexic young woman escapes from a psychiatric hospital and meets a young man who wants to help. She is caught and returned to her parents, who are soon beheaded by a mysterious serial killer who murders his victims with a garrote, apparently striking only when it rains. The orphaned young woman and her new lover launch their own investigation and are endangered when a link is discovered with the victims and a particular operation performed years before.
Production
Shot in and around Minneapolis in August and September 1992 on a budget of $7 million,[1] 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.[2] 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 [Argento was] after".[2] 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.[2]
Cast
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 (Chris Rydell) drives Grace (Laura Johnson) at the airport and sees Aura (Asia Argento) 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 tells she's already eaten;
- Aura visits a market and is spotted by Dr. Jarvis (Frederic Forrest), 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 Quick and of the killer are more graphically explicit (the wire is seen cutting through Linda's neck).
- The BBFC cut the UK video release by six seconds. There are two cuts, both to shots of wire cutting into the necks of Hope Alexander-Willis and Piper Laurie. However, these cuts were waived in 2002, and all subsequent DVD releases are uncut.[3] All UK video and DVD releases contain the shorter version.
Technical Facts
- Taglines:
- Some Nightmares Haunt You. Some... Can Kill You.
- A dark secret, a twisted mind, an insane desire for revenge.
Trivia
- The character played by Asia Argento is inspired by her half-sister Anna (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.
- Argento's usual collaborating rock band Goblin was 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.
- Piper Laurie's death was much more violent in the shooting script. The wire was supposed to cut through her mouth therefore splitting her head in half and not through her neck. Tom Savini also claims Argento wanted to shoot it from the inside of Laurie's mouth, so he asked to work on an over-sized mouth model in order to place the camera. But after Argento came up with the idea of the head saying "Nicholas", the set-piece was scratched out.
References
- ^ Alan Jones, Profondo Argento: The Man, The Myths And The Magic, (FAB Press, 2005), pp.215, ISBN 978-1903254240
- ^ a b c Jones, pp.221
- ^ BBFC listing for Trauma (1993)[1]; last accessed July 16, 2008
External links
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