Hi there,
I'm a regular visitor to the Kindertrauma site, and it's been quite interesting (and oddly entertaining) to see everyone's childhood traumas. Some traumafessions have actually exposed me to movies/TV shows that I was previously unaware of, but am now eager to track down (i.e., MAKING CONTACT a.k.a. JOEY and A GIRL NAMED SOONER.)
Anyway, some of my personal traumafessions have already appeared on the site via other people's submissions, but there are a few that I haven't noticed yet. One is the scene in BEASTMASTER where those wicked-looking "bat-men" appear, and that unfortunate escapee runs right into the open arms (or… "wings", I guess) of a bat-man. Thus, the kindertrauma ensues… I remember seeing that scene as a five- or six-year-old and feeling completely horrified. The two details I remember most are the guy's muffled screams and attempts to push out of the entrapment, and that one lovely shot where his liquidy remains drip down and run under the bat-man's feet. The shot of the bat-man opening his wings and releasing a gigantic pile of bones was pretty morose as well… Yeah, that scene haunted me for a good long time. And, for some reason, my mind re-imagined the liquidy remains as some kind of light green, Pert shampoo type of thing. Don't ask me why, because I have no frickin' idea. I guess it's just part of my crazy imagination.
Anyway, speaking of movie scenes that haunted my mind for ages… There was also the shudder-inducing "Medusa" claymation, which was part of the film CLASH OF THE TITANS. It was another film that I saw at a tender age, and the image of Medusa's glowing eyes and slithering head of snakes imprinted itself on my mind. The way that she emerges from the darkness, and the image of her blood spilling onto the floor after she's slain… Yeah, I still remember standing in my kiddy pool, in heavy downpour, having these images flash across my mind seemingly every 30 seconds. I also remember an image of my mother, when we were going to the grocery store or something. It was probably later the same day that I was (attempting to be) playing in the pool with my siblings. We were sitting in the family van, parked in the lot. She spit out a bright green hard candy, held it between her finger and thumb, and tossed it out the window. The static image of her holding the bright green lozenge on the edge of the open window, preparing to toss it out into heavy rain and grey pavement, inexplicably triggered the Medusa scene in my mind–not to mention, it bothered me that she was throwing out a good piece of candy! Even now, about 15 years later, when I remember the Medusa scene, I automatically think of this memory too. Again, don't ask me why. It is the mysteries of the human mind, I suppose.
Okay. now that I have those traumafessions off my chest, I wanted to put forth a possible "Name That Trauma!" This one time, when I was in my preteen or early teenaged years, I was flipping through the channels, and caught this short moment in some film or T.V. show. I'm guessing, from what little I saw, that it was late ‘80s, early ‘90s.
The only thing I can really remember is that group #1 was brawling with group #2 (both were mostly young "rebel" guys) in some kind of abandoned warehouse setting, maybe. Well, it was indoors, that's what I remember. Anyway, in the midst of all this mayhem, these two guys (possibly brothers? close friends?) were scooting along a wall. I think guy #1 had his back to the wall, and guy #2 had his belly to the wall. Well, unfortunately for guy #2, there happened to be someone with superhuman strength on the other side of the wall; whoever it was busted through, grabbed guy #2, and pulled him through the hole, snapping his body in half on the way (ouch!). Guy #1 watches in horror, and after guy #2 is yanked through the wall, he (guy #1) peeks through, and the next frame is a shot of guy #2, lying on the floor in two pieces, with entrails and a pool of blood between the two halves.
If anyone has any inkling of an idea what I'm referring to, I would be glad to hear suggestions! This short moment has stayed with me for about 10 years, and I honestly have no idea what movie/T.V. show it could possibly be. I'm 100% sure I didn't imagine this scene, 'cause I clearly remember seeing it while flipping through the T.V. channels.
Anyway, that's all for now. Keep up the great work!
UPDATE: NAME THAT TRAUMA SOLVED! Special thanks to DavidFullam for schooling us on CLASS OF 1999!
Hands up for those whose first homoerotic experience was watching The Beastmaster.
Could be the way cool Class of 1999.
Two great traumafessions at they both further cemented my reputation as a scaredy cat. The Beastmaster has several for me, with the one you mentioned as well as the scene where they show how they make those lunatic guys with the green eyes and black hockey masks. It's the same reason I hate that scene in Wrath of Kahn. Keep things out of my ear!
Clash of the Titans certainly had it's share. For me it was always the three witches. Don't show me a face with missing parts (eyes, nose, whatever). It reminds of that Twilight Zone: The Movie scene where the kid makes his sister's mouth disappear. SHIVERS!
That's funny, the Twilight Zone girl always creeped me out as well. In the Beastmaster I always recall the scene where the eyeball was in the hand, and they had to poke it out with a stick….severe Trauma! I agree about the Stygian Witches as well, the way they shrieked "give us back the eye", always haunted me. Another childhood Trauma was from Flash Gordon, when they were on Planet Arboria, and had to stick their hands in the stump with the monster….I couldn't sleep for nights.
I used to consider the "Bat People" from "Beastmaster" to be walking Venus Flytraps.  Now as for the man being broken in half there is a scene from the 1988 remake of "The Blob" that has the town sheriff suffering that same fate:
{Spoiler-a clip from the movie. The "back snap" happens near the end}
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf6s_dNyKGE&feature=related
BTW, the girl is a teen-aged Shawnee Smith who will be known to us in the 2000's as Amanda in the "Saw" movies.
@DavidFullam: Ha, I will have to check and see!
@mitch: Ick, the eyeball-stabbing was traumatizing as well, I agree!
@FatherOfTears: Hm, now that you mention it, they do sort of act like walking Venus Flytraps–which are also creepy, at least to me…
Ouch, poor Sheriff! That's definitely similar to the traumafession I was talking about (minus the, uh, giant slimy tentacle).
@mitch – You will always make my day when you evoke the name of Gordon! Flash Gordon had several traumas for me that I fought through because of the sheer amount of awesome on screen.
UPDATE: Yes! Thanks, DavidFullam! "Class of 1999" is the movie I couldn't identify for all those years.
I looked through the clips on Youtube, and finally saw it in part 7 (around the 3:40 mark): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTOhCxs4qJY&feature=related
Yay, mystery solved! 🙂
Thought so, very underrated film.