Trauma

Well let me start by saying it's not as bad as people think it is. Its brutal but not bad. Good story, Great effects, and good acting. "A Serbian Film" is much worse.

Anyway .. not for the faint of heart though. And not a movie you should see with your parents or a first date type of deal. Unless she or he is into those type of movies.

With a clear intention to shock, "Trauma" (2017) perhaps represents one of the most brutal examples of the horror genre. The film's plot is anchored in the deep scars that Pinochet's dictatorship left in Chile and its society, exploring a narrative full of violence and taboo themes.

The film has its highlights, such as the villain Juan, a memorable character devoid of compassion, well-crafted gore scenes, a constant tension and discomfort that permeate most of the work, as well as an underlying social criticism, although, in some moments , this criticism may seem like a mere excuse for the continued presentation of brutality. However, the performances of the main cast leave something to be desired at times, with the character Andrea being the only one to really stand out. Additionally, there are times when digital visual effects look strange and unrealistic.

"Trauma" is not a film aimed at the general public, as its plot is dark, its violence is excessively graphic and it addresses extremely delicate or disturbing themes. In this way, the only audience that will be attracted to this work is those who are entering the universe of extreme cinema or consider themselves a fan of this genre.

Writer and director Lucio A. Rojas was overly ambitious and certainly went all out to create insane shock value, but his inexperience as a filmmaker overshadowed his ambitions. There were just too many rookie mistakes, some so easily avoided, that it's a shame he at least didn't go back and edit some of the obvious issues. There were too many long, dragged out, and some unnecessary filler scenes, but that can be forgiven as rookie mistakes. But the film being too dark in the dark settings - and some so badly out of focus, could've easily been fixed post. I was impressed with the gore effects, prosthetics and S/VFX, but in many of those scenes, the camera only lasted a few seconds - some even less than one second, hardly enough to enable the shock value fully. You'll spend more time trying to figure out what you just saw in between dark, washed out, out of focus and quickly filmed scenes, you'll lose focus on what's happening next, to the point of getting annoyed, and that's still with me also having to constantly rewind to try and figure out what I just missed. The first few minutes of the film were the most impactful, as they were perfectly shot. But the rest of the film is hit and miss, which makes this entry into the gore genre a misfire that could've been much better.

The premise of the movie is strong, and the overall production is good, but while I'm fairly desensitized to graphic violence, the rape scene was sickening, excruciatingly long, and unnecessarily graphic. The direction of the scene doesn't waver in terms of the brutality and that the women are tragic victims; nevertheless, I felt it was over the top to a point that I had to ask why.

The introductory scene of Juan as a young man, which also is the opening scene of the film, also was intensely disturbing. I'm on the fence as to whether it was gratuitous or not. I know the Chilean revolution of the '70s was exceptionally brutal and violent, so perhaps it's necessary thematically. I don't think viewers from the United States are willing to tolerate that level of visceral, grotesque brutality on the screen, however.

The film is overall very dark and difficult to tolerate at times, in my opinion, and I sort of wish I hadn't watched it.

How do you rate and or review a movie like this? Not easy to say the least - on the other hand, if you make it through the opening of the movie ... well there is one other scene, that starts off as a party scene, but does totally get horrible once some unexpected guests arrive.

The movie does try to shock and mostly succeeds I would say. Forceful sex is one (terrible) thing, but the start of the movie adds another layer to it (no pun intended). So this is clearly exploitation - you have to know that, accept it for what it is or do not watch at all.

What can be said about it: it does look good. Disgusting things happen, but they are filmed in quite the amazing way. But while you have to decide if you are triggered and/or squeamish when it comes to movies like this one right here, it does never reach the potential of Serbian Film. That had some other levels to it - the war, the society and that dreamworld like craziness. Also the soundtrack was just great. Can't really be said here.

Still the movie will tickle the right things for you - if you know what those are. Not really up my alley - no pun intended, no matter how well it is made technically speaking and the acting isn't too shabby either. Plus nice blood and other effects.