Traumatika
Traumatika is the latest film from Director Pierre Tsigaridis who was previously behind the film Two Witches.
The film will have its World Premiere when it shows at FrightFest as part of the 25th edition of the festival, and this is the blurb from the production team:
“…a blend of elements from the hellbound genre with that of the slasher one to forge a fresh innovative concept in shock and increase the sensory impact. Employing multiple first-person point-of-view shots to immerse the audience in traumatic childhood experiences, the question is, why is little Mikey terrified of his mother? Maybe it’s because of the evil inside her? Mikey’s night terrors become reality when his mother begins showing signs of demonic possession. What he’s about to experience will haunt him for the rest of his life and claim countless lives across generations.”
I can confirm that this is one of the only films I have seen which blends demonic possession with a psychological thriller and some additional slasher elements, so it is a memorable film in that aspect. Traumatika is an ambitious film, which it should be given a lot of credit for, though personally I do not feel it fully executes what it sets out to achieve.
There is a scene early in the film when the stereotypical lore/exposition dumping moment occurs with one of the side characters sitting in front of a computer and reading off the information related to the artifact that leads to the evil the film revolves around being unleashed. In general, these type of scenes in a film can feel a tad tacked-on, but because Traumatika is attempting to do a lot thematically in its tight runtime, this lore dumping scene feels very rushed and a tad clunky.
Although the execution in certain moments of the film does not quite work for me, there is a lot to enjoy about what this film is doing, and on top of that there are some terrific and set pieces that will stay with you because of how unsettling they are. There is one moment during the lore dumping scene when the father character (portrayed menacingly by actor Sean O’Bryan) says glibly “some dumb artifact from Africa”, and I feel that this throwaway line is a biting criticism of the ignorance of societal white supremacy. The character is warned about the dangers of this artifact but is so blinded by the cultural superiority he feels as a white man in America that he does not believe in the danger. His moral failings are the catalyst for the rest of the film, a film which is reminding us that trauma is intergenerational.
Overall Traumatika is an ambitious film that for me does not quite stick its landing. I would still encourage you to go watch it so you can decide for yourself. This film may have not entirely worked for me, that does not mean it will be the same experience for you.
✦✦✧✧✧