FrightFest 2024: ‘Traumatika’ features body-mangling imagery and strong lead performances

The transmission of trauma from one generation to another lies at the heart of Traumatika. As they say, hurt people hurt people. Director Pierre Tsigaridis explores this idea through demonic possession, connecting the dots between one man’s disgusting behavior and his daughter’s sexual trauma. Tsigaridis unspools the story with strong emotional threads that allow the characters to dig deep into their chest and root around inside the holes corkscrewed in the sinewy, throbbing muscle. The filmmaker concurrently delivers spooky and at times nauseatingly unsettling imagery. It turns the stomach. Jumpscares abound, injecting terrible terror into the bones.

When Abigail’s (Rebekah Kennedy) father receives an ancient artifact, which allegedly harbors a vengeful demon, he twists the statue’s head and cracks open the metallic body. A silky smoke rises from its insides and wafts into his orifices. The demon takes over his body and forces him to sexually assault Abigail before transferring the evil spirit into her body. Abigail then goes on a murderous bender – running away from home and taking refuge in a dilapidated house on the outskirts of town. In a sequence of disturbing events, she kidnaps several young boys for satanic, ritualistic purposes.

Twenty years later, Abigail’s sister (Emily Goss) shares her trauma of losing her sister in a new book. She appears on a popular talk show to promote the release but soon regrets the appearance, feeling as though she’s exploiting the tragedy. As she navigates her guilt, Mikey, one of the rescued children who has spent the last two decades in a mental facility, sees release and shows up at her doorstep. It’s Halloween and dressed as a ghost, he reveals that she is no longer safe. The entity, long dormant, shows up to continue the bloody rampage.

Along the way, Tsigaridis infuses the cinematography with deliciously dark atmosphere, guiding the viewer into a mood-drenched funhouse. Images pop-pop when you least expect it. Sometimes ghoulish, the visual cues crawl under the fingernails and worm into the nervous system. There are such disquieting moments that you won’t forget them as they brand themselves on the brain. Something wicked this way comes – and it lingers in the eyeballs long after the credits have rolled.

Kennedy is particularly splendid in her lead role. From displaying absolute fright to trembling sorrow, the performer offers up a turn that makes for one of the year’s biggest surprises. Even in the quieter moments, she has a way of relaying intense emotion through the camera lens. As things devolve, her performance grows more manic and charged; she clearly understands the assignment.

Traumatika claws at the throat. With the demonic force slipping into a new host’s skin, the third-act climax is among the year’s most thrilling – packed with blood and just enough unexpected humor. From Pierre Tsigaridis’ direction to the acting, the film succeeds in becoming a Halloween ritual. While it could have pushed the boundaries a bit more, particularly with the grisly, fingernail-peeling violence, it does (mostly) land on its own two feet. As the director’s second feature (following Two Witches), Tsigaridis positions himself as an exciting new voice in horror. We should be on the lookout for what he achieves next.

Traumatika made its world premiere at this summer’s FrightFest.

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