Trauma

A mysterious 16 year old girl named Aura (played by Dario Argento’s daughter Asia) is saved from jumping off a bridge by David, a young graphic artist (Christopher Rydell). The troubled girl has just escaped from a sanatorium run by the sinister Dr. Judd (Frederick Forrest) and is terrified about going back there. Meanwhile a deranged killer who gruesomely dispatches his victims by decapitation is terrorizing the city. Aura finds herself safely back at her parents, an odd pair of Russian mystics (Piper Laurie and Dominique Serrand) but soon finds her life is in danger as the killer is somehow linked to her past. Argento’s delirious thriller threatens to derail at certain times, mixing explicit violence, eating disorders, romance and mysticism. However his stylish direction holds it together for the most part, only faltering right at the end with a ludicrous and extraneous credit sequence. Cast also includes Brad Dourif, James Russo and Laura Johnson. See also ‘Deep red’ (1975), ‘Suspiria’ (1977) and ‘The Bird with the crystal plumage’ (1970).