Trauma Box

Tyler Stevens, Shawn O'Sullivan
  • 5.0 (13)
  • Film History
  • Updated Weekly

Cheaper than therapy. Let the healing begin.

  1. 2d ago

    015: Ghoulies (with Michael Guggino)

    It's Ghoulies time! Perhaps *the* ur-frightening VHS box, few of our generation made it through the 80s without confronting the terrifying image of a ghoulie popping out of a toilet seat. Michael Guggino - musician, sound technician, and cousin-of-Shawn - joins us to plumb these depths, and we talk about farting on Ghost Hunter, the myth of the primal father, and of course, plenty of childhood trauma. Scope the latest episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc, and check out our Patreon where we'll be dropping some extra special treats soon.

  2. Aug 3

    014: Murder Rock

    Giallo-horror master Lucio Fulci makes a visit to the Trauma Box with his 1984 headscratcher Murder Rock. This Flashdance-indebted (?) giallo features more murder than rock, and it doesn't have all that much murder, but Tyler and Shawn roll with the many confusing punches. But really, what's not to love here? Hop into the Trauma Box this week for stylish interiors, sexy Italians, bizarrely inappropriate dance sequences, and a pretty s****y Keith Emerson score!

  3. Jul 27

    013 : The Osterman Weekend

    For our thirteenth episode - lucky as ever - Tyler and Shawn tuck into the Osterman Weekend, legendary director Sam Peckinpah's final film. Its iconic VHS box - which features the feline Meg Foster wielding some kind of cyberbow - has plagued our Boxketeers for decades, and let us tell you, this one delivers the goods. And by goods, we mean bads. It's a muddled mess torn between the aesthetics of two decades and the ethoses of at least three genres. But! If you enjoy watching shadowy people watch other people have sex on TV monitors, this is the film for you! Tune in for our deep dive, and do check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/traumaboxpodcast

  4. Jul 20

    012: Fantastic Dinosaurs of the Movies, with Aerin Ercolea

    Today we recruit friend of the pod Aerin Ercolea, musician, poet, and intrepid Trauma-Spelunker. She brings her past to the present via the greatest presence of the past: m**********n' DINOS. "Fantastic Dinosaurs of the Movies" is a dollar bin compilation of 1950s and 1960s monster movie trailers that was foundational to her childhood mythology. Sadly, it's a bit scant on the actual dinos, but hey, we still talk some amateur dinosaurology, the eroticism of humanoid troodons, Pittsburgh hoagies, and kaiju anatomy. Turn out, tune on, drop dino facts.

  5. Jul 12

    011: The Sword and The Sorcerer

    Trauma Box takes our first peek into the vast world of Albert Pyun with a visit to his first feature, 1982's The Sword and the Sorcerer. Pyun is a figure that many Trauma Box listeners will be familiar with, if not by name then certainly via the iconic VHS boxes of his innumerable direct-to-video offerings. Pyun's ouevre typically evinces a fascination with martial arts and cyborgs, as seen in films like uh, Kickboxer 2 and Cyborg. But before Pyun found his true calling in that particular vein of trash, he hit blockbuster success with The Sword and the Sorcerer, a fantasy/barbarian flick that, we were surprised to discover, pre-dated Conan the Barbarian. Unfortunately, it's...not great, but veterans of Pyunville will be hardly shocked by this. Expect winsome smirks, blows-to-the-groin, harem babes turkey legs, and other other classic tropes of the sword & sandals genre, all tinged with Pyun's blundersome touch!

  6. Jul 6

    010: Darby O'Gill and the Little People

    This week, in announcement of the launch of our Patreon, Trauma Box deviates from our standard-issue format to discuss one of Shawn's Foundational Childhood Texts: Darby O'Gill and the Little People. This quirky 1959 Disney flick features sumptuous production, ponderous pacing, and a smirking, decidedly-not-Irish young Sean Connery. Join for our in-depth discussion of generational Disney aesthetics, vintage special effects techniques, and of course, Childhood Trauma. And please do check out our Patreon for more exciting things to come! www.patreon.com/traumaboxpodcast

  7. Jun 29

    009: Skin Deep

    This week, the Trauma Box pops open with Skin Deep, a 1989 offering from the senescent Blake Edwards. Beauty is, as they say, only skin deep, and apparently so are bad movies. Skin Deep's legendarily ribald VHS box proves misleading, as the film contained therein lies much closer to Leaving Las Vegas than Revenge of the Nerds. Consider it a cautionary tale, with the moral being: never cast John Ritter (as much as we do love him) in a role written for Dudley Moore. The sex addict gags and boozehound travails ring as perfunctory and cudgeling in the absence of Moore's British Wit. But fear not - your noble Trauma Boxers have once again stepped in to take these punches in your stead!

  8. Jun 22

    008: Summer Job

    Trauma Box goes bawdy this week, as Tyler and Shawn get tackled by Summer Job, Paul Madden's neon-swathed sex comedy from 1989. An unremarkable but admirably good-humored cast slog through third rate gags pulled from Police Academy and Porky's, and we're right there slogging through it with them. As if that wasn't decadent enough, we even get a performance from former ELO members moonlighting as OrKestra, and it's as middling and feeble as you might possibly imagine. You may well spend the film as we did: asking the question "will there be a cameo from a dog wearing sunglasses?" But who knows, you might also learn how to do the Primrose Porpoise along the way.

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5
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

Cheaper than therapy. Let the healing begin.

Information

  • Creator
    Tyler Stevens, Shawn O'Sullivan
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Trauma Box