I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely the type of gal who needs a little blood and raunchiness in her horror movies. Don’t get me wrong, I can enjoy films with elaborate story lines, inspirational character development, and plots that just deliver an overall feel good feeling, but when I’m watching horror these are just the least of my concerns.
Hailing all the way from Turkey, spawns the 2015 gory foreign horror film Baskin. For those who are faint at heart, or cannot stomach the idea of being an adult and reading subtitles for an hour and a half, this is not the film for you. Although some critics have labeled it as another “torture porn” flick, it’s seriously not to that extent but sinister in its own special way.
Baskin depicts a chilling nightmare of tale about a group of regular run of the mill cops, who encounter one of the worst back up callings of their lives. Although the story is laced with heavy usage of unclear dream symbolism and hints of stereotypical evil inspired superstitions, the movie slowly unravels an unforgettable hellish pit of intense gore and things you would rather not see bump in night.
The environment was very reminiscent of the ominous Silent Hill video game atmosphere, in the manner of each corner turned becoming creepier at each step. The mysterious tones may be off putting to some viewers as some need clear cut to the point answers within the first 15 minutes of a film, but I truly adored the anticipation of trying to figure what exactly my eyes are watching. It was as if a survival horror game had a love child with Clive Barkers’ Hellraiser but had some foreign brutal flare tossed in the mix.
Along with just beautiful overall cinematography, the movie had killer ambient yet industrial soundtrack in which was perfectly placed in the corresponding scenes. I also really enjoyed the overwhelming sense of hopelessness throughout the journey as well as not having any serious emotional ties to these very humanistic characters. Director Can Evrenol does a fantastic job of portraying a sense of universal yet American “bro-ship” among the group of cops which seamlessly tie into their utter vulnerability and delivers a terrifying lucid representation of the absolute worst things to witness on your first night on the job.
One thing to reflect upon when watching this movie is definitely Turkish culture. Although the majority of the film appeared quite Americanized from my point of view, it definitely took the idea of evil into its own hands. According to Seçkin Sarpkaya who is a researcher in Turkish culture, the word “yek” translates into “demon” or “devil” in old Turkish. Even more interesting is that “yek” derives from the word “yemek” which means “to eat”, and putting those two connections together presents cannibalism.
“In this text the demons that called “yek” are demons/monsters that wait at the crossroad, eat human flesh and drink human blood, wrap the guts of humans to their bodies, horrible faced, shout with ugly voices, hold tridents and flags in their hands, in the shape of a black giant, with fire-colored and tressed and beautify their bodies with venomous snakes.”
However without bringing any other spoilers to the table, this is the type of film cult horror movie fans have been waiting for! Baskin is available on multiple streaming outlets such as YouTube, Amazon, Google Play and iTunes, but will not be available on DVD until later this year.
https://youtu.be/2FzVIjN9hc4
