Stars: Susan Gayle-Watts, Ranen Navat, Aj Bowen, Sean O’Bryan, Emily Goss, Rebekah Kennedy | Written and Directed by Pierre Tsigaridis

From the off, Pierre Tsigaridis’ sophomore film, Traumatika, promises its audience an exploration of the various sub-types of childhood trauma, focusing on emotional, physical, and sexual abuse alongside a gratuitous amount of violence.

The story is told non-linearly, starting in present-day L.A. We are introduced to Jennifer Novac’s (Susan Gayle-Watts) highly exploitative – verging on evil – true crime show intent on exploring a spate of child murders that occurred in 2003 in Pasadena, California. But, before we get there, the audience is transported back further in time to the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, when a lone wanderer buries a mysterious artefact only to then commit suicide after being plagued by visions of his child’s death at the hands of the demon Volpaazu.

93 years later, and we shift to a young Mikey’s (Ranen Navat) bedroom.