Traumatika: Review. By Joe Muldoon.
Following his 2021 debut ‘Two Witches’, writer-director Pierre Tsigaridis has returned with his sophomore effort, psychological gorefest Traumatika. And by opening with the line, ’In psychology, there are five forms of childhood trauma: physical neglect, witnessing violence, emotional, physical and sexual abuse’,Traumatika immediately announces its intention to lay bare several forms of trauma.
After a mysterious prelude of an Egyptian man ritualistically sacrificing himself in the Sinai Peninsula, we begin with Mikey (Ranen Navat), a young boy suffering from night terrors. His mother (Rebekah Kennedy, returning collaborator of Tsigaridis), Abigail, has become possessed by a terrifying demonic entity, and what follows will come to serve as the root of a trauma so deep that it will span generations.
Kennedy’s performance is a standout and she has further established herself as one to watch in the indie horror circuit. Also of particular note is Sean O’Bryan, whose performance as John Reed is as blood-curdling as the practical effects that make his segment all the more chilling. Alongside one another, Kennedy and O’Bryan are fantastic, and their scenes are highlights of the film. But following their time together, the affair takes a marked dip.
Ultimately, Traumatika’s genre-flipping comes across as overly-ambitious tonal confusion, starting off as gory possession horror, morphing into a strange crime-thriller, and then a slasher. To tackle a theme as heavy as trauma is difficult in itself, but the decision to do so over several timeframes and genres, within an 80-minute feature, was a misstep. As an outright anthology, Traumatika could’ve worked, but as a single narrative, its incohesion holds it back.
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