Don’t we all love a monster’s collaboration? Or when they actually clash? Think 1987’s “The Monster Squad” or 2003’s “Freddy Vs. Jason.” Well, indie horror legend Larry Fessenden achieves both with his latest film, “Trauma or, all the monsters“, completing a quadrilogy with three of his previous projects. The film had its international premiere at the Montreal Festival Fantasy Festivalcelebrating its 30th anniversaryth edition.
Cassandra (Laetitia Hollard; TV series “The Pitt”) has moved to the small town of Talbot Falls in upstate New York to work on her book about George Washington Carver. Looking for some peace and quiet to concentrate, she is also distracted by her next-door neighbor: a strange-looking man who only comes out at night to check a chained door on the side of her house. Perplexed and frightened, she writes an article for the local newspaper about the “monsters” and the recent history of the town, afflicted by horrific events in recent years. She ends up stirring up a storm in the town with her comment, as most of its citizens now give her the side-eye. Turns out she wasn’t entirely wrong, since her closest neighbors are actually Adam (Alex Breaux; TV series “Stranger Things,” “Trick” (2019) and “Depraved” (2019)), a stitched-up Frankenstein of a man, and Charley (Alex Hurt; “Blackout” (2023)), a lycanthrope when the moon is perfect. Cassandra’s article attracts Sam (Larry Fessenden; “Habit” (1995), “The Dead Don’t Die” (2019) and “You’re Next” (2011)), a vampire fascinated by the fact that he might have a real reunion of “universal monsters” because it simply delights him. Once everyone’s paths cross, all hell breaks loose.
Trauma or, all the monsters
For those who appreciate Larry Fessenden for his work on the big screen and for being a great guy in real life, “Trauma Or, Monsters All” will be no different from his other projects. The writer-director-producer-editor-actor of his latest film manages to collide the worlds of three of his previous monster films (“Habit,” “Depraved” and “Blackout”) in a really fun way. His films, although dealing with stereotypical monsters that generally encompass dark and disturbing atmospheres, instead add a certain lightness to their overall ambiance. Just like Fessenden off-screen, he adds sarcasm to some of his characters (notably his own), sprinkling, as always, a nice touch of dark humor. Despite a few scene transitions that truly add to the “independent” feeling of the film, this only adds to the charm of the experience itself.
New cast members Laetitia Hollard and Aitana Doyle (in the role of Agnes) bring some fresh blood to a cast that sees the return of main (and secondary) characters from previous films (horror icon Barbara Crampton even reprising her role from “Blackout”!). Both women display a wide range of genuine emotion, particularly Hollard, throughout the events of the feature film, taking the audience into the story’s climax of the monsters colliding and all the collateral damage in between.
“Trauma Or, Monsters All” displays decent special and makeup effects, although it’s also not on track to win any awards for them. The American indie film still manages to reveal real details about Adam’s body, patched up like any other large Frankenstein-like being, but it’s missing a little finishing touch to Charley’s werewolf design. Nonetheless, audiences will undoubtedly become attached to each of the three monsters for distinct reasons, ranging from charisma to benevolence to empathy.
In a post-screening Q&A with some members of his team, Fessenden explained that, among other things, this film was meant to explore the backgrounds and current states of the new characters, since each of the monsters’ back stories had already been developed in each of their respective films. In doing so, however, it creates lulls throughout the plot with repetitiveness in character tendencies and dialogue.
Larry Fessenden
For fans of Fessenden’s previous films, this one unites the 3 universes into one in an admirable way, combining violence with humor, empathy and passion. “Trauma Or, Monsters All” receives a rating of 3.25 stars out of 5.
