It is Halloween season, and there is no better time to revel in the festivities than by catching a truly haunting movie. “The Possession” is the fourth entry in the dabbe series of movies which introduced the ‘Djinn' archetype into Turkish cinema. Apart from that, it also unveiled many fresh takes on the genre that makes it truly unique and thrilling to watch. There is its highly realistic camerawork that puts you right into the action as if you were witnessing an exorcism in a claustrophobic room. And then there it is its audacity to poke at Islamic dark arts and demonic possessions, a macabre marriage that is not only taboo but also a gutsy headfirst trudge into an unspoken and unheard chapter of the horror playbook.
“The Possession” is the story of a psychiatrist who is highly sceptical of the nether world and of spiritual hoopla until she gets embroiled in an exorcism and other creepy happenings with the local village Ustaz (Islamic preacher). Tense and extreme in its depictions of the supernatural and gore, this one is not for the faint of heart and is disturbing from start to finish. Far from the typical creature feature that relies on jump scares and cheap thrills,it instead, weaves a frightening story with sinister imagery and atmospheric sounds like that of the searing recitation of Qur'anic verses. Think of it as if the films “Hell House LLC” and “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” had a baby and the babysitter was “Munafik”.
Hasan Karacadağ's criminally underrated found footage scare fest is spine-chilling and lingers with you way after its 2-hour runtime. Its popularity only escalated slightly after being obtained by Netflix, but I am certain that once the wider audience is privy to Karacadağ and his gruesome offerings, his fame will take off and who is to know what magic the Turkish director can offer up with a Hollywood budget.
