Baskin

If "being a good horror movie" was purely a matter of inserting cruel images, nightmarish scenery and petrifying characters in your movie, then "Baskin" inarguably was one of the greatest horror masterpieces of the past 2-3 decades. This film is literally chock- full of grueling gore and the decors are so disturbing that viewers with a weak stomach won't even be able to digest them. Unfortunately, however, "being a good horror movie" is also about a solid script, originality, a coherent structure and a minimum of empathy with the lead characters. These are all elements that I missed in "Baskin" and which prevent me from labeling as a true genre delight. What remains is nevertheless a more than remarkable and grotesquely violent horror movie from Turkey. This country has a rather bizarre tradition when it comes to making horror/cult movies. During the 70s and 80s they mostly just made shameless and unintentionally hilarious imitations of famous blockbuster, like "Turkish Superman" or "Seytan" (a blatant copy of "The Exorcist"), but since a few years there's a new generation of Turkish horror directors and at least they want to uplift the quality level of their national horror cinema a bit. The protagonists in "Baskin" are five police officers and, I don't know whether it was director/co- writer Can Evrenol's intention or not, but the film doesn't exactly draw a positive image of the Turkish authority figures. They're sitting in a filthy roadside diner, telling vulgar stories about their meeting with (male) prostitutes to each other and collectively harass a young waiter. Kind of like Joe Pesci did in "Goodfellas"; they pick on a poor sucker because he dared to laugh with their stories even though he wasn't invited at the table to laugh. A few moments later they decide that the physically ill person of the bunch can drive the van and they have a little karaoke party in their service vehicle. Doesn't really encourage you to trust the Turkish police, now does it? They subsequently receive a vague radio report that leads them to an abandoned mansion where a satanic sect is in the middle of holding a black mass. The high-priest is excessively cruel in his execution rituals, but there also seems to be a link between the events here and the recurring nightmares of the youngest cop Arda. I've read a review on "Baskin" that described the film like a compound between the narrative styles of David Lynch and Rob Zombie. The comparison definitely makes sense, although our pal Can Evrenol is not (yet) as skilled and experienced as those two. Many, many sequences are truly sickening to watch, with explicit footage of eye-stabbings, slit throats and cut open stomachs. One last thing I simply have to mention - and genuinely applaud – is the terrific casting work! Particularly the supportive roles are masterfully cast; most notable two actors with faces that were seemingly made to have a career in horror cinema (although this may come across as very disrespectful because they both obviously suffer from a physical condition that makes them look that way). Mehmet Cerrahoglu depicts the high-priest and he's the kind of actor who only looks scarier from the moment he removes his mask. The other actor is named Seyithan Özdemir and he is credited as "giant man/frog hunter". He instantly reminded me of 1940s actor/horror icon Rondo Hatton! I would strongly advise Mr. Özdemir to pick up a few words of English and purchase a plane ticket to Hollywood, as he can surely make it big in Hollywood with a mug like that.

Baskin comes from a country for which horror genre outings are quite atypical to see. Despite not having much to compare with locally, it is clearly a passionate and well-made horror even when examined against countries that contribute to the genre much more frequently. Not terrific, but a great start to a young filmmaker's career.

The film is about a set of five cops who are patrolling their neighbourhood at night. They receive a call for backup coming from a part of town associated with many fantastic and far-fetched story. Upon entering it, they find themselves in a place none other than Hell.

I was quite entranced by Can Evrenol's direction, it was surprisingly confident for a first feature, daring to aim for difficult scenes and set-ups right off the bat. The opening 15 minutes in the restaurant were my favourites. They use numerous very long, very slow takes, which captured a sense of slow building dread despite the hilarious conversation going on between the cops. His flair for beauty and the abstract persists later on as well, especially in scenes where he combines multiple perceptions of reality (loved the room filling up with water). I am definitely a fan of his after seeing this movie.

I do think that the first third of the film is its strongest, because oh the sense of undefined dread. Once the cops enter "hell", the movie is still entertaining but becomes more of a torture-porn outing, without that much story. I like the reference to the mythological hellish trials and tribulations from Greek mythology, but I would have preferred a stronger plot. The circular reference of the film kind of bothered me, because it is an extremely common trope of "characters in limbo/hell" movies (like House Hunting, Haunter, etc), and I would have liked to see something more original.

The acting was quite fantastic for the budget. All of the cops did a great job, the likable ones managed to be truly likable, the hateable ones easily made themselves repulsive to the viewer. The physically "unique" actor who played the master of the hell domain was very creepy and good in his role, with zero prosthetics to boot! Great casting choice.

Overall, Baskin could have used improvements in terms of storytelling, but it is absolutely worth seeing as a piece of horrific art, morbidly beautiful to watch. 7/10

If you are tired of modern horror films filled with cheap and forced jump scares constructed in a way of muting down the sounds and then throwing an explosion of loud noises in your face to try to scare you, and are rather interested in watching a film filled with tension, dreadful atmosphere, interesting characters, symbolism and pure nightmare images look no further. Baskin (aka Police Raid) is a Turkish horror film directed by Can Evrol (in his directorial debut) and is based on short horror film of the same name. Story follows a group of police officers who stumble upon a Black Mass in an abandoned building. Sure, probably not an original scenario. You might feel like you probably seen this before, but it is the approach and execution that allows this film to rise above most of today's horror films. Tension is always present in Baskin, and it's dark and dreadful atmosphere builds all around you and won't let go so closing your eyes will mean nothing but surrender. Also, instead of a group of stupid, drunk and naked teens, this time we have a group of mature, experienced police officers and seeing them being overwhelmed with terror is even more frightening. There is a scene in which one of those police officers enters a room only to behold scenery so terrifying he loses his mind and starts screaming. There were no jump scares, just genuine terror. Maybe the last 20 minutes were kinda disappointing compared to the first half of the film, but Baskin is still overall a strong horror ride. If you are not a fan of violent and gory films, better skip this one. But if you're open minded and enjoy all types of horror movies you should definitely pay a visit to this hellish nightmare.

We've seen the premise of going to Hell many times before, but few are as effective as 'Hellraiser' and 'Baskin'. While 'Baskin' is not trying to be another 'Hellraiser', one can't help but compare them. Both films depict hell as a horrible place of torture.

From the opening moment, Yavuz (Muharrem Bayrak) is depicted as an arrogant and rather crude guy, a policeman who abuses his authority. (He does undergo the most character development towards the end). He is one of five cops who are about to embark on a nightmare journey. The men are Yavuz, Apo, Seyfi, rookie Arda, and their boss Remzi. Arda is under Remizi's care since his father died.

Responding to a call for back-up, they head to Inceagac - a creepy and dangerous place. On their way, they hit a man on a dark stretch of road, and drive into a lake. Without transport or a working phone or radio - and with no sign of the person they hit - their nightmare is only just starting. They make their way on foot to Inceagac, where fellow police officers called for back-up.

If you intend having snacks with this movie, make sure you finish it before they enter the building in Inceagac - if you want to keep your food inside, that is! Once they enter the building, the film plunges you into hell from which there is no escape.

Just like 'Hellraiser' these scenes are disturbing, bloody and grotesque. This truly is the stuff nightmares are made of. The visuals and make-up effects are really good. 'Baskin' doesn't have the same good storyline and payoff as 'Hellraiser', but this is a very well made movie. Saying I liked the movie might make me sound sadistic considering its theme and nature, but yes, I actually enjoyed it.

Came across this title while browsing on IMDb. Read very positive reviews by regular posters in the cinema board section.

The movie starts very promising. Cops chatting n dining in some very creepy motel. The atmosphere is creepy. The chat goes on. A lil boring in the beginning but the patience pays off very well once they get to the abandoned building when hell is truly unleashed.

Its like a Freudian, giving way to a claustrophobic sense of approaching dread of darkness and of death.

The set lighting is extremely poor (may b the low budget n debut direction).

Some of the sequences have less of an impact than they would have if we were able to see more of what was going.

Thankfully it wasn't shot in hand held shaky cam stuff.

The dark, desaturated cinematography is perfectly suited to this aesthetic and adds to the grime.

The movie is very surrealistic, like a trip to hell n back.

When the end credit rolls, u feel like u jus awoke from a mind-*uckin nightmare.

Curious to see what its director will do next.

Fans of Clive Barker, Lucio Fulci, David Lynch, Dario Argento n Wes Craven will definitely enjoy this movie.

The actor who played Baba has an extremely unique look, like a true Satan waiting in hell.