By JASON WALLACH
There are multiple forms of abuse – physical, sexual, verbal, psychological/emotional, intellectual, and spiritual maltreatment. There is also neglect, which is considered a passive form and is often coupled with one or more of the more aggressive types. Writer-director Pierre Tsigaridis‘ new film, TRAUMATIKA, produced by Maxime Rancon, who also serves as co-writer, explores the gamut of abusive behavior through multiple genres. The first third of the film I found harrowing, disturbing and even gross, thematically (which wasn’t pleasant at all) and therefore, well-executed. It is very dark and grimy, and I’d go so far as to say it was frightening, as situations involving child abuse often are.
The film depicts how acts of violence and their traumatic effects can be carried into adulthood and how they can affect not only the victim but also those in proximity. The film begins in one subgenre of horror and transitions midway into another, making it seem almost schizophrenic. This works – or doesn’t – based on one’s own personal preference and experience. RUE MORGUE recently sat down with Tsigaridis to discuss the film’s conceptual and thematic design as well as its execution.
TRAUMATIKA seems very personal and intimate, at first, and is very rooted in abuse and how it can be carried through one’s life. The film also details how that abuse can harm not only the victim, but those around as well. Where did the story come from? Also, the film starts out as a possession piece and transitions into a slasher. Why did you choose to execute the story in this way?
Wow, that’s a big question. We wanted to make a movie with a child at the center of the story and to have a very vulnerable aspect of being a child and having something evil around them. It came from the idea of having a child in a house being threatened by a parent. It’s not as personal – thank God – as people may think.
I think it’s a very broad problem in human experience, sadly, that parents or stepparents can have a negative impact on children. That was a starting point, and with Max [Rancon] and I loving horror films, we took that concept further. We wanted to tell the story through the eyes of a child and make it immersive in that sense, to have a POV with a low-angle camera. I think that was an idea I had based on some indie video games that I like, one specifically called Granny, which centers on a child being afraid of their grandmother. The concept, being super simple, is freaky.
The idea was to use demonic possession as a metaphor for violence towards children, which… It’s not usually used for the purpose. It was a way to justify why parents can be evil to children, because children don’t easily comprehend the violence that is done to them. The film uses the demon as a metaphor for the trauma that is passed down from the parents to the children, how it spreads like a disease. There’s a piece of data that says that 97% of people in prison have experienced some sort of childhood trauma. This is where the film crosses over into the slasher genre. If you experience trauma as a child, the chances exist that you may do bad things as an adult. That seemed like a way to then throw the slasher genre into the mix because, at the end of the day, we’re making a horror film, and it’s an opportunity to write a love letter to the films and genres we love.
The first third of the film is the childhood trauma piece, and there’s an interesting segue from that to the third act with a talk show host interview. That bit gave me vibes of how exploitative that kind of media can be and how triggering it can be for people who have experienced trauma. It reminded me specifically of the time when Shelley Duvall went on the Dr. Phil Show – that whole situation… Is that a place you were intending to go?
Yes, absolutely. I think it was a way to comment on today’s society, where everyone wants to be cozy and watch true crime from the comfort of their own homes before bed. It’s kind of a guilty pleasure, and our character, Karen Novak (Susan Gayle Watts), embodies that, and she is somewhat like Gale Weathers from Scream. Like Gale, Karen seems very likable but does questionable things. But Dr. Phil and Jerry Springer were influences on this character from having grown up seeing bits and pieces of these shows. So, you might say that I am exploiting trauma, but there’s a double layer there because I am making a statement with that character. There’s always an angle where someone can say, “But you’re doing it too!” which makes it even more meta. (Spoiler Alert) We were going to kill the character, originally, but then decided it’s more realistic to let her get away with everything. Sometimes, there are bad people who are smart enough to go through life getting away with it, and there’s no such justice. So, we really exploit the exploitative nature of it.
