BASKIN
Turkish, but no delight
released 24 June 2016 | 18 | vod only Director Can evrenol Cast Gorkem Kasal, ergun Kuyucu, Murharrem Bayrak
“Not everything has an answer,” police chief Remzi (Ergun Kuyucu) sagely advises new recruit Arda (Gorkem Kasal), about an hour into this Turkish horror. And that’s about as much of an explanation of its plot as Baskin is willing to offer. What begins as a story about aggressive cops bullying the locals in a backwoods community turns into something far creepier as the unit apparently descends into hell. Not a metaphorical hell, either – actual hell, complete with demons, rituals and S&M torture orgies.
But is any of it real? Contradictions and ambiguities abound, right from the opening scene, where a younger Arda eavesdrops on his parents having sex only to be confronted by a monster. It’s all a dream, except maybe it isn’t; either way, it sets the tone for the flood of freaky juxtapositions of sex and horror that follows.
Visually, it’s great: the gore is stomach-churning, while the trippy Mario Bava-esque lighting tinges even the tamer moments with dread. Sadly, Baskin’s wilful incoherence is its undoing. Nightmarish in the truest sense, it might seem wet-your-pants scary in the moment, but its terrors quickly evaporate in the cold light of day.
Baskin is based on a 2013 short of the same name. Watch it here: http://canevrenol.com/baskin.