Review of Baskın (2013) by Anthony L — 26 May 2016

Baskin is an intense and nightmarish work of art that instantly has secured a place in the annals of horror cinema for me. This is an absolute balls-to-the-wall horror film that takes no prisoners. As a debut, this raises the bar for films of its kind.

Can Evrenol is a name to watch out for in the future. I love directors who pay tribute to their influences and Evrenol gives off a Lynchian semblance by way of Barker. Alp Korfali's frames are dripping with a Carpenter-esque dread from the beginning shot to the very last one.

The beautiful and expert use of color and lighting in Baskin made my eyes light up. Also, when Ulas Pakkan's music played throughout the film, I knew I had to grab a copy of the soundtrack. The only downside of the music portion is that I felt like there wasn't enough of it in the final product of the film.

I honestly enjoyed the first half of the film more than the fucked up and completely nuts last half. I was really digging the atmospheric vibe in the first half and I enjoyed the humor and chemistry that the main characters shared.

Yavuz (Muharrem Bayrak), Apo (Mehmet Fatih Dokgoz) and Sabo (Sabahattin Yakut) as characters were performed really well but Arda (Gorkem Kasal) and Remzi (Ergun Kuyucu) were the standouts for me. I found that their acting abilities really made Baskin a better experience.

Now let's talk about Mehmet Cerrahoglu. Holy shit. He has been blessed. A perfect casting choice for the role of The Father, Mehmet's physical appearance is beyond words. You've gotta see it to believe it and even when I saw it, I didn't believe it.

Although the practical gore effects were exceptional, I found that it got really repetitive and I wanted more diversity when it came to the violence. I also wanted to see more of an in-depth vision of hell because I felt that while the set design was amazing, it was limited.

I had heard a lot about the ending; the reception was mixed. For me, the ending knocked me flat on my ass. I loved it. I jumped out of my seat and cheered once I knew what was gonna happen. It hit me like a stack of bricks and definitely pushed it a bar above most of the horror films of 2015.

I totally recommend this film for horror buffs because it's downright fucking awesome. Baskin delivers. Check this one out but be warned, it is definitely not for the faint of heart.