MOVIE REVIEW: TRAUMA THERAPY: PSYCHOSIS

Trauma Therapy: Psychosis is the sequel to the film Trauma Therapy. I found the first film to be quite successful in its premise, intention and execution. The idea of using a self help guru and their organization as a vehicle to build a thriller around proved to be an intriguing and solid foundation. It was a good film and I enjoyed it. With all its twists and climax, I was eager to see the continuation of the story. Unfortunately Psychosis was not as satisfying an experience for me as a filmgoer.

I appreciate that the creators of the piece made this film a standalone. You can dive right into Psychosis knowing nothing at all about the previous film. Unfortunately I have seen the first film in the series and I just find it to be superior, but let’s dig into Psychosis itself before I do any comparisons.

With Trauma Therapy: Psychosis you are made aware that something bad has happened from the start. Self help guru Tobin Vance has fled America to some remote location somewhere in Scotland it seems. Vance is seeking to expand his operation by converting severely broken people into cult-like acolytes as he did in the previous film. But now, with him on the run as it were, everything is more extreme. The isolation of his selected victims is far greater, the danger exponentially more real, the methodology used to break them more grueling and traumatic.

I can see what the creators were trying to do, Vance, who is normally so in control is rapidly losing control. A theme that plays out throughout the film and will obviously feature as part of the climax of a third film in this series. Even as I understood this I still could not get this movie to work in my head. In the first Trauma film the interactions between Vance and his candidates for brainwashing made sense. The way that he would unsettle them and still be able to reel them back in made narrative sense.

However, things have gotten radically extreme even on the surface. Vance’s VP is incredibly condescending and rude. The candidates are drugged and tortured at first willingly and that unwillingly with events escalating radically. Vance has body guards decking out in black tactical gear (including ballistic/hockey masks) and armed with AK-47s. Of all the red flags that the initiates do bring up, having faceless armed men at a retreat is never one of them! Even with these people being doped up to break them down I just could not accept them continuing to go along with this program. It just stretched my disbelief beyond the breaking point even with such damaged souls involved. Psychosis does try to preempt the viewer going having this reaction by having Vance give a speech at the beginning about getting results. Paraphrase, “If I could save your dying loved one, would it matter how I did it?” But that’s just not enough for me to accept these characters going along with the retreat as far as they did.

Another issue I have is that the acting and direction are not on par with the first film. This film thrives on its ramped up scenery chewing and I get the why of it but at times it was just too much. Tom Malloy who wrote the film and plays Vance does a fine job with the character, and I can really see the evolution in his arc from film to film. David Lawrence who returns as John exhibits plenty of charisma in the role. Sadly many of the other performances ranged from over the top to passable and I was not able to engage with the characters.

It’s a difficult review to write given how much I liked the first film and having the context to understand what they were trying to achieve here but in the end Psychosis didn’t succeed for me the way Trauma Therapy did. It’s a shame. On a positive note I am invested enough with this story and its characters to watch a follow up film should they make it. I wish the creators luck going forward.

SCORE:
3.5 out of 5