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THE FLICKS: The “dream logic” prevalent in most of Dario Argento’s work serves as both ammunition for his critics and an inspiration for his fans. For those looking for flaws, it’s as if the director explains away his underdeveloped scripts and over stylized visual technique with a Pee-Wee Herman-esque “I meant to do that!” And certainly, for a filmmaker with Argento’s background, he should be able to balance his Giallo murder-mysteries with a degree of literary panache to match his technical bravado. But both Trauma and the more recent The Card Player still find the director, who was once labeled “The Italian Hitchcock,” treading water in the genre that made his career. The first film Argento shot in America, Trauma also features his daughter, Asia, in her first leading role as an anorexic Romanian on the run from the administrator of a mysterious psychological institution. Befriending, and eventually romancing, a local news artist, the two set out to find a serial killer who beheads his victims with a portable guillotine. Carrie’s mom Piper Laurie portrays an emotionally unstable psychic and Brad Dourif cameos as a disgraced surgeon. A throwback to Argento’s early films in terms of convoluted motivations and a ten-little-Indians countdown until the killer is revealed; Trauma makes almost no sense upon a first viewing. The story jumps from the supernatural to a police procedural to a “more you know” movie of the week about eating disorders, finally settling on a climax that seems almost obligatory rather than related to events that led up to it. But all this cinematic confusion, whether intentional or not, does produce some goosebumps, as when our male lead (played by a glassy-eyed Mark Rydell) is awakened by a whispering silhouette or a curious kid chases a lizard into the den of the black-gloved killer. Trauma is at its best when disconnected from reality, just as indeed Argento is as a director. The film’s straightforward scenes between characters feel clumsy and awkward, as if just buying time until the next macabre set piece. Not to mention the uncomfortable aspect an underage Asia Argento presented as a legitimate love-interest and Dario directing her in a nude scene. The Card Player is a bit of a departure for the director, having adopted the trendy Danish dogma of naturalistic lighting and more improvised performances. His story is also stripped down to the basics, jumping right in to the challenge presented by a cocky killer who plays video poker against the police with the lives of his victims at stake. Stefania Rocca plays the target of the Card Player’s attention, but she recruits a ringer (?) to help save the next girl who shows up gagged and bound on the killer’s webcam. Without a doubt Argento’s most stable, mainstream work in years, the film is technically flawless, proving the director could produce your typical Hollywood thriller if given the proper material. But...so can hacks like Brett Ratner. You expect both more (and less) from an Argento film. You learn to live with the flaws in hopes that the director will turn over a stone most filmmakers would walk past without even glancing down. The Card Player keeps the flaws but only rarely delivers something you’d expect from the Argento oeuvre. The acting, for once, is not to blame as both leads (Brit Liam Cunningham makes a suitably convincing ex-London cop) sell the story as best they can. The central conceit of the script however keeps the action at a distance, as the Card Player taunts police with his internet poker skills. Shots of terrified victims awaiting the outcome are disturbing, but self-conscious in the gritty style of latter-day Argento knock-offs like Saw. And the film’s “duel on the tracks” conclusion is far-fetched to the point of criminal stupidity. It feels unfair to knock an Argento film that corrects so many of the director’s common mistakes. But if the trade-off is a soulless exercise in Giallo mediocrity, I’ll take a surreal mess anytime. Perhaps Argento should ignore the critics (myself included) and go back to making the movies that spring from the back of his twisted mind, no matter how illogical they may be. THE FEATURES: Although they don’t bear the marking of Anchor Bay’s previous “Argento Collection,” both Trauma and The Card Player are very worthy of collector’s item status, due in large part to the spectacular commentaries provided by “Profondo Argento” author Alan Jones. Put simply, Jones knows his stuff, and these tracks would make both discs worth a purchase without any other extras. After bragging about being on-set for every Argento production since Tenebrae, the author proceeds to fill you in on anything and everything you wanted to know about each film. Those bizarre cutout figures at the beginning of Trauma? Part of a French Revolution obsession that didn’t make it into the finished film. Why the similar character name in The Card Player to Asia Argento’s character in The Stendhal Syndrome? The film was developed as a sequel but the actress dropped out after her Hollywood career took off. If you’re an Argento fan, both commentaries are absolutely essential. But what else is there? Trauma includes a new interview with the director, on-set footage from Tom Savini’s home movies (which includes a cool how-to of Piper Laurie’s be-heading), plus a few deleted scenes, stills and the theatrical trailer. The Card Player features another new Argento interview, and an even better one with composer Claudio Simonetti (of The Goblins) who runs through his entire musical history on film. A trailer, more behind-the-scenes footage, and the electronic press kit find both films more than well represented on their DVD debuts.