Caution: This article contains minor spoilers for the motion picture, 'Dementer'.
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It is definitely safe to say, that stories that revolve around the long road back from severe trauma are extremely appealing to audiences. Simply because, they are downright inspirational. For they always feature a shattered individual that has outright had enough when it comes to what they are going through and that motivates them to stand tall and face their pain and resolve it and well, that definitely sends a viewer’s spirits soaring. Since it tends to remind the audience of an age-old and important fact. In that, when we put our minds to something… we can truly accomplish anything, and that message and the wonderful feels it sends our way, really does stay with us for quite some time after the story has come to a close.
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But while it is wonderful to leave these films feeling good, there is sadly, an inherent oversight when it comes to this particular type of tale. In that, they rarely show us the flip side of trauma. Because sadly, not everyone gets that happy ending, where they conquer their past in a dynamic and uplifting manner. No instead, some people that deal with this don’t have a support network surrounding them to help them out of the quagmire. Nor do they have any resources to help them get their mind right, and that allows for some folks to simply fall between the cracks and be consumed by their pain. And that bleak reality, explains why we don't often see moves that feature that aspect of trauma, since that would be tough to sit through. But there are some stories out there that take the time to examine this unfortunate reality, such as the recently released horror film, Dementer.

Now in this particular motion picture, we are introduced to a woman named Katie who has quite the sorted and painful past. For she managed to flee a horrific and abusive cult and now that she is free of that particular nightmare, she’s hoping to reform her life and do some good in the world. Which motivates her to take a job at a facility that cares for special needs individuals and for a brief time, it seems as though she is finally on her way to enjoying a better and fulfilling life. But eventually, flashbacks of the horrors she endured in the cult’s ‘care’, alongside an odd illness infecting her favorite patient, sends terror down Katie’s spine. For it would seem the evil that she worked so hard to escape has come to claim an innocent soul, and that means that she will have to go to incredible lengths to protect her new friend from a horrific and terrifying fate.

Which is a pretty by the numbers plot to say the least, one that doesn’t appear to offer up any darker examination revolving around trauma. In fact… at first glance it appears as though Katie is in essence, standing up to it by taking the time to protect others. But that simply lends to the wonder of this particular horror film, because this allows for the viewer to be lulled into a false sense of security. One that is quickly ripped away, the instant that Katie’s trauma begins to bubble to the surface. Because just like that, the audience is now immersed in a tragedy, one where Katie refuses to believe that anyone or anything can help her with her problems outside of her baseline survival skills and a strange book of spells, and that makes for a harrowing viewing experience. One that forces the viewer to helplessly watch as Katie slides into a powerful downward spiral. 
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Yet while that alone would have made for a horrific story on its own since we are used to seeing the opposite, the horror elements in this story only make her harrowing journey all the more uncomfortable. Since Katie goes to some stunning lengths to protect dear Stephanie and that leads to some supremely disturbing scenes. The kind that will genuinely make you look away from the screen, thanks to the sheer ugliness they bring to the table and what’s truly impressive about this film, is that the horror doesn’t end there. For all of these elements lead to an outright shocking ending, one that only sinks the viewer further into the darkness present in this plot and one that we absolutely won't spoil here, because of how stunning it truly is. But rest assured it is so dark and so powerful, that you will need a few minutes of silence to process the ugliness of everything you've just seen.

Which makes this particular horror film a brilliant and visceral experience when all is said and done. Simply because it offers up such a raw presentation of the dark side of trauma and of an evil that our main character does not understand in the slightest. Plus, we would be remiss to not point out that this movie does a wonderful job with representation, since people with disabilities are presented here in an honest light and it also features some fine performances as well, since Katie Groshong (Katie) is electric on the screen, and her vulnerable and earnest portrayal of a emotionally broken woman only helps to draw you into this waking and incredible nightmare. One that grabs hold tight of you and never lets go and well, if you're looking for a unique and dynamic horror film to enjoy, then please give this one a look. Because this one, really is something quite special, thanks to its no-holds barred approach to the scares, and its outright original plot. 

It is hard to explain something that you believe is real, especially when nobody else is willing to listen. You are forced to have to convince your family and friends that something out of the ordinary is happening, and while they should believe you without a second thought, they might believe that you are going crazy instead. Even doctors that are paid to listen to you will look for a logical reason of why you are seeing or hearing things that are not there, instead of giving you the benefit of the doubt. This happens to many people and while the world does not believe what they are saying, at least they know what the truth is and will fight until the end to prove it, not only to themselves, but to the doubters who are making them think that they are crazy.
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Sydney Wells has not had the easiest life but has made it work for her. Losing her sight when she was five years old, she never allowed it to hold her back and is the lead violinist in her orchestra. With another attempt at a cornea transplant taking place soon, she has hopes that she will be able to see once again, but after the first one did not take years ago, she does not get them too far up. Waking up after the surgery, her other senses continue to be heightened and she hears someone walking around her room. Meeting young Alicia, Sydney has made a friend in the hospital and hopefully will be able to see her soon.

Getting the bandages removed from her eyes, Sydney is able to see the world once again, although it is coming in very blurry. With her recovery underway, she listens to her roommate throughout the night and sees a figure get up with Mrs. Hillman and escort the dying woman out of the room. Trying to understand what is happening, Sydney heads out to the hall to see the figures disappear right in front of her. Not knowing what she has seen, she finds out in the morning that Mrs. Hillman had passed away during the night, but that does not make sense to the recovering patient. Getting discharged, Sydney stops by to say goodbye to her new friend Alicia and wishes her the best and the little girl offers her a bit of advice before she leaves, to not be afraid of what she sees, as the world is a beautiful place. Not knowing what her eyes are about to show her, Sydney takes the advice, but it might cause her more harm than good.

After a welcome home party, Sydney settles in for the night, but there seems to be something strange happening with her eyes. Seeing her room change in front of her, she thinks that there might be something wrong with her eyes, but her new doctor is not seeing anything out of the ordinary. With the visions getting more powerful, Sydney wants to know who her eyes came from and what happened to them as scenes of a fire continue to haunt her mind. Not willing to give that information to his patient, Sydney is left alone with the visions and does the only thing that she can to shut them off, close her eyes and not use her eyes as long as she can. Seeing that his patient is hurting, Sydney’s doctor decides against his better judgement to pass on the information that he has found on her case. But little do the two know what the woman who gave up her eyes is wanting Sydney to see.

I will be honest about this, I never saw the original movie, so I am not sure how this compared to it. Overall, it is not that bad of a storyline. It keeps you guessing about what is going to happen until the last scene, so that is good. I like how the visions continued to get stronger as Sydney’s sight got better, because when she was fully healed, she knew what needed to be done. The hospital scenes had to be my favorite with young Alicia visiting Sydney, even after death, because she wanted to make sure that her new friend understood what needed to be done. With a little bit of fear, horrific fire flashbacks, an alternate world or vision, and a woman that needs to know the truth, it is a pretty good movie to watch when you are not in the mood for a hardcore horror movie that will keep you up for hours on end. Stay Scared.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 1017 of ‘The Walking Dead’.
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Over the course of the past ten seasons, the characters that inhabit the world of The Walking Dead, have faced some downright incredible trauma. For not only did they have to watch the world collapse before their eyes at the rotten hands of the living dead, but they’ve also lost friends and family members during their long trek eastward and sadly, their tough experiences didn’t end with their arrival at Alexandria. For their introduction to Negan and the Saviors brought about the end of Glenn Rhee and Sergeant Abraham Ford, and the resulting war that came from that… saw Carl Grimes pass away as well.
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Yet the hardships didn’t end there either. For Rick Grimes, the appointed patriarch of this extended family seemingly died in an accident years after ‘All Out War’ came to an end, and Alpha’s desire to bring chaos and pain to their world, saw more good people die before the Whisperer War came to a close and really, this is important to note, simply because… these brave characters have always done their best to try and hold their heads high after losing those they love. In part because there is always so much for them to do and new challenges for them to face. But also, because, they seemingly haven’t wanted to face their pain. As if this bold and unsettling new world has motivated them to hold onto it in order to give them strength.

Which is… an unhealthy thing to do, to say the least. Since that means the resultant pain from their losses has festered and grown and that can lead a person down a pair of interesting paths. One where they eventually explode because they can no longer contain their emotions or one where they finally open up and face it and begin to heal and it just so happens, that after ten years of strife and difficult moments, the series is opting to give the characters the opportunity to take part in that latter option as we begin to close in on the eleventh and final season, as evidenced by last night’s tale. For ‘Home Sweet Home’ focused heavily on Maggie Rhee and her return to the Alexandria fold and that of course meant… the time had come for Maggie to face the past and the pain she's buried.

In fact, the series wasted zero time in making that happen, since she quickly encountered Negan in her travels and that of course, immediately opened up all kinds of old wounds and questions about what her future in Alexandria was going to look like. Because returning home would mean that she and her son, would be forced to have to look the man that murdered Glenn in the eye, just about every single day and that left her wondering if by chance, she was making the wrong call in potentially returning to Alexandria. But sage advice, and a harrowing situation, and her son, helped Maggie to realize a few key things. Such as the fact, that there was no better option for her family and friends right now, than going back to Alexandria.

Which brings us to the tough situation in question. Because it turns out that Maggie’s prior colony, was brought down by a mysterious group of attackers known as the Reapers and sadly, one of them had tracked Maggie and her group to their current location. Which meant that before they could even think of settling in behind Alexandria’s gates, this rag-tag group had to deal with this threat and well, it quickly became obvious why Maggie and her friends fear these people. Since they are relentless and ruthless and as strong as they come, since this mysterious hunter/reaper was able to toss Daryl around with impunity. And while they were able to defeat him in the most unique and messy way imaginable, clearly being somewhere safe with walls and armed guards really does offer up Maggie and what’s left of her group, their best chance at survival. 
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But while that definitely played a big part in her coming home, there was mention of other reasons for her to come back to Alexandra. Such as Daryl pointing out that she couldn’t run forever and needed to face her pain and also, her son also helped to solidify her decision to return home after all these years. Because Daryl was in fact, one hundred percent correct and running from yesterday wasn’t doing her any favors and eventually, her son would be cognizant of her decision to hide from this as well, and setting that example didn’t sit right with her. Which meant the right thing to do was to face Negan and stand tall in doing so and teach her son some valuable life lessons in the process and well, her decision to do that, made this episode quite inspiring and downright brilliant, quite frankly. For several reasons.

Because this really is the first time we’ve seen any character on this show, speak to their pain and reflect upon their journey in a healthy manner. Which led to some powerful and moving moments for certain as Maggie and Daryl reflected upon Glenn and what comes next and it was equally as wonderful to see Daryl be the source of logic and guidance for Maggie in this instance, since it speaks to how far he’s come and grown. And of course, seeing Maggie rise up and walk right past the source of her pain was indeed about brave as it gets and that’s most certainly where the inspiration in this tale comes from. Because it takes guts to do what she did and if Maggie Rhee can walk right by the man that killed her husband in a mad quest for power, then we can certainly take the time to face our fears and problems in life.

But the bittersweet stuff, well that came from the introduction of Herschel Rhee. Because regardless of Maggie’s bravery in this tale, the fact that he is a spitting image of his father definitely tugs at one’s heartstrings and reminds us of the gravity of this journey and what these characters have lost and how badly we want to see them rise above their pain. And this episode hopefully signals that the story is working toward just that and really in the end, this was one incredible episode for certain. Because this is the first time that The Walking Dead offered up a story that was completely free of the confines of the source material and the first time it’s been so intimate in nature and if that is any kind of indication of what the show is going to be like going forward, then we are going to be in for quite the incredible treat as we inch closer and closer to the end of this grand and sweeping saga. Until next time.