Director: Lucio A. Rojas
Cast: Catalina Martin, Macarena Carrere, Ximena del Solar
Production Company: Border Motion Cinema
Runtime: 106 minutes
Do you simply watch movies for light entertainment, or do you have other goals in mind? Maybe you want to learn something, or even have an emotional response to cinematic events. Movies can make you feel good, but are you ready to feel horrified and disgusted?
Yes? Then maybe Lucio A. Rojas’ film Trauma (2017) is for you…
In the movie, a group of women are visiting a small town in Chile when they’re brutally attacked by a ruthless man and his troubled son. They soon discover that no one will help them, and if they want to do anything about these men, they’ll have to do it themselves.
The movie is painfully hard to watch from the very first scene. The main goal here is clearly to place you in a constant state of shock and revulsion. I’ve watched thousands of horror movies, but even I squirmed around in my seat while watching this one.
Many have already compared this movie to A Serbian Film (2010) because of its extreme violence and events based on actual political situations. I would also compare it to I Spit on Your Grave (1978) for its intense portrayal on rape and revenge.
The excessive violence is set against scenes of consensual love-making and full-frontal nudity. Some films blur the line between the two, but here the difference between them couldn’t be more clear. One is decisively perverse, while the other is affirming in nature.
The blood and gore effects are gruesome and realistic. A combination of effective digital and practical effects are used to achieve the brutal results. The nature of the story doesn’t really allow you to appreciate the effects the way you might in a slasher film.
Lucio A. Rojas also wrote and directed a few other horror movies, including Zombie Dawn (2011), Perfidy (2014), and Path (2015). I haven’t seen any of them yet, but if they’re even half as intense as this film, I’ll need to eventually track them down.
Trauma is a movie that demands some serious commitment on the part of the viewer. It challenges you to not look away and to stick it out until the end. This one is definitely not for the faint of heart, or anyone who is easily sickened or offended…
– John Migliore
For more information on the film, check out the links below…
Indie Horror Online 