Sometimes a film comes along that’s a real head scratcher, in terms of its tone, its themes and its delivery.
Pierre Tsigaridis’ Traumatika is one such beast.
After a cold open in the desert, featuring a man carrying a mysterious object, we rewind 20 years and see a child being terrorised by a demon.
In a bombastic opening which goes for the jugular immediately, we find out the child was then kidnapped and has now been missing for 9 months and counting.
We also flit between multiple timelines with enough speed to make your head spin. Tsigaridis isn’t too concerned about continuity, and is happy to jump around in service of the wider plot.
The darkest element of Traumatika is a side plot involving a father who abuses his children, which you feel is there to shock, and shock it does.
Where the film does shine is in its horrific visuals, with its no holds barred approach to violence and really striking images that you won’t be able to unsee in some cases.
As the title suggests, this feature is ultimately about trauma and the ripple effects it can have over many years, plus when you add in some demonic possession you have quite the melting pot.
Traumatika is a real melting pot of genre, but it never really settles on what it wants to be, is it a demonic possession, is it a family horror, is it a Halloween film? It pops with a frenetic energy but by its conclusion you may be so tied up in knots with the plot you may question the cohesion of it all.
Traumatika screened as part of Grimmfest 2024.
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