TRAUMA

A girl with psychological problems witnesses the death of her parents. A crazy killer who has a mania for decapitating his victims hunts her down because he believes she knows his true identity. In fact, the young woman, on the night her parents were killed, saw the real face of the murderer, but due to the shock, her mind erased the memory. A young journalist who falls in love with her will help her and solve the case. Dario Argento returns to thrillers and crafts a "horror-mystery" in the old style. The classic Argento nightmares return, from the black-clad maniacal killer to the trauma that leads to madness, ending with the "revealer" detail: as in "Deep Red," the protagonist has already seen the face of the killer but cannot (or does not want to) remember it. Badly treated by critics and some of his fans, "Trauma" should instead be definitely reevaluated: starting with the story, which, although perhaps not very original, manages to be engaging and full of suspense; the special effects are also of good level, supervised by the great Tom Savini, and once again surprising and shocking is the "usual" double ending. Even the young daughter of the director, Asia, offers a good performance in the role of the insecure and complex protagonist of the film. All these elements place "Trauma" among Argento's "successful" films. Trivia: in the role of the crazy mother of the young protagonist, we find the great Piper Laurie, whom many will remember for having played a similar role in the magnificent "Carrie, The Eye of Satan" by De Palma (in which, indeed, she was the possessed mother of the poor Carrie White).