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 is a much-lauded Turkish horror film about a squad of cops who face a literal descent into purgatory when they answer a call for help in an abandoned house. On arrival they venture into the subterranean depths to find themselves menaced by a psychotic father figure who controls an army of sub-humanoids. Have the cops entered into hell itself or are they merely at the behest of a very human psycho?

Don't go looking for many answers in this rather ambiguous and low budget slice of film-making. It's a deliberately arty film which is short on answers and long on questions, playing with the narrative structure at times to mess up the viewer's head. Sadly, the sum is rather less than some of the more interesting parts, particularly as this is a straight gore fest with little wit or insight to it. The first hour is a dullish bore in which the viewer must endure the company of some particularly moronic and unlikeable characters, while the last half hours turns into torture porn with some good effects and a largely repellent tone. I found it brutish and predictable, and hardly worth the bother.

The films centers on Arda, a young policeman who lost his brother as a child. He is cared for by the police chief who he calls uncle. We have a long scene in the beginning with dialogue that sets things up for later in the film. While out, the group of cops get a call to go to a different part of the city they don't patrol. They have an accident, but manage to find their way to an old precinct headquarters used during the Ottoman age.

About an hour into the film we discover they are in the Inferno, a plot spoiler given to us in the stock film description.

From what I can find, Baskin means "raid." This has been called Turkey's "Hellrasier" and I would agree with that from the torture point of view. The hell master is creepy looking at there are a lot of frogs in the film, either to show us a plague of frogs or to promote "Hell Comes to Frogtown." While the horror and torture aspects were good, watching a Turkish film with English subtitles prevented me from getting to know the one dimensional characters, or caring.

Guide: F-word, sex, nudity.