I always try to get a Dario Argento movie into this countdown, and the results have been pretty hit or miss. And I have to say, 1993's Trauma falls into the miss column.
It was Argento's first film produced in the States (Minnesota is the setting) so it doesn't have a lot of the usual post production dubbing that mars Italian productions, which is a plus, and the story itself is classic giallo. But it falls short in so many other ways.
Asia Argento plays Aura, a traumatized teenager with anorexia who is rescued from a suicide attempt by a TV news employee. She's also being terrorized by a serial killer who is decapitating people associated with the psychiatric hospital she escaped from.
The film is filled with a surprising number of well known actors, including Piper Laurie, Frederic Forrest, and Brad Dourif, and they are all universally terrible in the movie. I'm always amazed when something like that happens. Can a good actor really give a bad performance just because he's following the direction of a bad director? Or is there something else going on?
But aside from that, it's just not a very engaging story, is, for the most part, bereft of Argento's trademarked garishness, and has too many ick factors surrounding Asia Argento, who was 17 when the movie was filmed. Her character is 16 years old, appears topless, and engages in a romantic relationship with the adult hero. No thank you.
I watched Trauma on Prime Video.
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