Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

Trauma (1993)

Director: Dario Argento

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

This rarely seen gorefest from Italian horror director Dario Argento failed to get a UK cinema release, despite containing all the best and worst elements of his uncompromising style. David Parsons (Rydell) is a journalist who takes young anorexic Aura Petrescu (Argento) under his wing after her parents are apparently murdered by a serial killer wielding a decapitating machine. As the unstable Aura and David become closer, a pattern to the killings emerges. Argento's first American backed film pays homage to Psycho, yet he conspicuously lacks Hitchcock's ability to direct actors - there isn't a half decent performance to be found here, and his own daughter in the female lead is particularly awful. Also, a barely credible plot and uneven pacing don't help. Yet Argento's occasionally brilliant camerawork and the evident glee with which he sets about the decapitation scenes make this just about worthwhile.

Author: TH 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

Review: Penélope Cruz more raunchy than ever in 'Nine'

Review: Penélope Cruz more raunchy than ever in 'Nine'

Dave Calhoun reports on Rob Marshall's Oscar-touted musical with Daniel Day-Lewis playing a troubled director

Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade

Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade

Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this

Jim Jarmusch on 'The Limits of Control'

Jim Jarmusch on 'The Limits of Control'

Jim Jarmusch has followed ‘Broken Flowers’ with an esoteric crime mystery. Dave Calhoun speaks to him from his New York office

Richard Linklater on 'Me and Orson Welles'

Richard Linklater on 'Me and Orson Welles'

Dave Calhoun meets the 49-year-old, Houston-born filmmaker Richard Linklater to discuss his new comedy

Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones

Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones

Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation

On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'

On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'

Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations