kindertrauma

Month: November 2020

Name That Trauma:: Rob M. on a Faked Home Invasion

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Reaching out again because my mind isn't what it used to be.  I'm trying to recall a movie that was released in the last 20 years.  I don't know what year.  I don't know any actors in the movie, but I feel like I would know the name if I saw it. 

It's set in the late 50's or 60's.  It was a major release… had a lot of word of mouth buzz (maybe because the director or producer had a murder style blockbuster similar).  It was set in the midwest or the south.  I think midwest…. maybe Kansas.  So let's say Kansas in the late '50s or '60s.  The movie begins with a home invasion.  The family is living in a mid-century modern style home.  The family consists of Husband, Wife and maybe one or two kids. During that home invasion the wife is killed and the criminals flee.  This is a ruse.  This was set up by the husband and his wife's sister (whom he is really in love with). They would get away with it, if not for a nosy insurance claims adjuster who is very suspicious.  There is an attempt to poison his coffee.  It's all very much like Fargo.  These people aren't killers.  They make horrible choices and pile more horrible choices on top of them.

There is one more element to the film.  Racial tension perhaps?  I say this because at one point an angry mob surrounds their house for days on end.  I'm not sure I remember why.
Thanks again, Rob M.

Name That Trauma:: Lena on a Clock That Strikes 13

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Hello! I hope
You can help me.
I have never actually seen this movie it's one of those movies that one of my childhood friends told me about.
Never forgot her telling me, but have never been able to find it.
I don't have much to go on.
I'm going to guess it's a 70's movie. Whether it was made for TV or not I'm unsure.
It has a nurse living or working in someone's home. Her last name might be Green??
I believe there is a child in the house.
A clock strikes 13 times instead of 12 at midnight.
I know it's not much to go on?
Thanks, Lena

Traumafession:: James on Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Sleepaway Camp. No other movie has psychologically scared me as extremely as this movie has. I actually watched it for the first time while CAMPING with my Dad and Uncle in a small Evil Dead-type cabin deep in the woods of Pennsylvania!

The movie has a series of things that made me uncomfortable. These kids weren't just mean to each other, they were emasculating and castrating. Watching the cook blister and writhe in agony over for what seemed like an eternity, the snake emerging out of the open mouth of the most visually disturbing drowned corpse I had ever seen, and the curling iron up the genitals with brute force and sizzle. It all brought me down to a very vulnerable place. Then the ending put me in the truest form of shock one can experience. I retreated inside the safety of my mind and everything went numb as the guttural growling and hissing of the very embodiment of a critical psychological breaking point manifested itself onscreen. I don't think I talked much afterward. It took years for me to watch it again. Now it's a favorite.

I didn't revisit Sleepaway Camp until watching Unhappy Campers. Renting the sequel was very therapeutic for me. Its lighter comedic tone eased me out of the trauma. It's not without its own sort of brutality. I think the outhouse murder and the incredible monologue Angela delivers as she commits the act is very powerful and has become one of my favorite movie scenes. I've read that it was taken straight from Robert Hiltzik's original script for the sequel, before changes were made and infused with comedy. I can only imagine watching that scene played out with the grim, dead serious tone it was intended to have, more like the original, and having no comedy before or after to alleviate its morbidness. Imagine that.

-James of The Esoteric Interpreter

Traumafession:: PopcornMonster on Laffun Heads

Posted on By unkle lancifer

When I was a kid I remember these super creepy novelty heads that when the tie was pulled down would spit water, blink their eyes, and laugh while their tongues moved in and out. My aunt had the clown variety and it spooked me out but pretty much every version was high on the uncanny valley scale. To this day I often think about them again and have considered picking up a vintage head from eBay but as of yet I haven't pulled the trigger due to the prices and the fact that even if I did buy one I doubt I would even display the thing anywhere and for fear of mentally scaring my daughter in the same way I was.

Kindertrauma Rewind:: Carnival of Souls (1962)

Posted on By unkle lancifer

UNK SEZ: No submissions this week and come to think of it, I don't feel like writing myself as that may require the use of my brain. So why not let's utilize our time traveling machine and go check out Kindertrauma TEN long years ago back in 2010 when I was shamelessly shrieking the praises of the forever haunting CARNIVAL OF SOULS!? Simply skip right on over HERE!

Kindertrauma Rewind:: Unk on Race with the Devil (1975)

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Hey! Welcome to our exciting latest spectacular feature at Kindertrauma called "Kindertrauma Rewind" where we travel back in time to explore posts from the past! In other words, I just discovered a brand new level of laziness! I don't know what to tell ya folks, writing really cuts into my napping time and since my napping time involves cats, I think you know where my loyalty lies. Let us now travel back to the wonderful year of 2003 when on a brisk October 8th morning your Unkle Lancifer decided to share a traumafession concerning the 1975 escape from Satanists flick RACE WITH THE DEVIL! Grab my hand and a snack and jump on over HERE!