Indie
[Review] ‘Baskin’ is a Spine-tingling Tale Straight Outta Hell
I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all seen the trailer for Can Evrenol’s Turkish horror Baskin, about a squad of unsuspecting cops that go through a trapdoor to Hell when they stumble upon a Black Mass in an abandoned police station.
The footage is hard-hitting – a rush of adrenaline that’s filled to the brim with gore. It sells something that Baskin is not. I tell you this not as a negative, but as a way of leveling your expectations.
Baskin is more of a character piece that’s constructed around a concept that sends the several police offers to Hell. Behind this device, there’s an attempt to build rich characters through slow-burn storytelling, which at times is surprisingly captivating. While Baskin is extremely exposition heavy, Evrenol builds dread and suspense around every set piece through his distinguished vision behind the camera. The dark color palettes and bleak set design only enhance an already spine-tingling tale.
So, no, Baskin isn’t that Event Horizon trip to Hell we were all expecting, it’s instead a slow-paced horror fairytale that you tell bad children at bedtime to scare them into being good.
It takes a long time get into the abandoned station, but once we’re there Baskin takes on the spirit of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser, filling the screen with all kind of nightmarish imagery. At times it feels as if Evrenol is trying too hard to shock the audience, throwing so much oddity and obscurity it’s hard to know if there’s actual backstory to any of it. Still, if Evrenol is going to take the viewer into the depths of Hell, it feels as if he should be taking it as far as he can.
I’m not quite sure the film fully delivers on its promise, and the big reveal feels razor thin. Still, Baskin has cult midnight written all over it. It’s the kind of arthouse horror that becomes a household name among genre fans. It’s so shocking (at times) and so astoundingly well made that, if anything, I think it puts an exclamation stamp next to Can Evrenol’s name as one of the futures of horror.
Her House of Horrors, the horror division of Independent Production House WOMXNOGRAPHY, has launched its Bite Size Short Grant Program, ahead of its film festival Dollhouse of Horror, which will take place in March 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
The Bite Size Short Grant Program awards $2,000 film grants to female-identifying and queer horror filmmakers. Shorts must be able to be made for $2,000, with a minimum runtime of 8 minutes. Submissions are now open on Filmfreeway, and are being judged by a panel of horror lovers and content creators.
The 2024 Bite Size Short Grant Program judge lineup is as follows:
“James H. Carter II- A documentary director, film producer, podcaster, marketing specialist, and writer. James is the founder and co-owner of Creepy Kingdom. Creepy Kingdom was founded in 2011 and is a multimedia website, and production studio specializing in creepy content. Their primary focus lies at the intersection of childlike fantasy and the macabre, covering horror films, theme parks, haunts, and much more. Beyond their extensive media coverage, Creepy Kingdom hosts events, offers original merchandise, and engages in film production under the Creepy Kingdom Studios brand producing original films like “Foolish Mortals”, exploring Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” fan culture, and “Georgie”, featuring Tony Dakota from the original “It” miniseries.
“In addition to founding Creepy Kingdom, James has won awards for his documentary work, including the award-winning “Foolish Mortals,” which has earned him recognition. He has been featured on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween special.
“Ashleeta Beauchamp is the editor-in-chief of Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, a cheeky horror magazine created to uplift marginalized writers, artists, models and other creators within the horror community. She also runs The Halloween Coalition, a community group to provide support and marketing for horror and Halloween events around the Southern California area.
“Titeanya Rodríguez is a multi-hyphenate creative, and the founder and owner of HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, home of DOLLHOUSE OF HORROR and the horror division of WOMXNOGRAPHY. As a fellow storyteller and a self-proclaimed artivist, Titeanya’s mission is to create opportunities for women of color and queer women, across film, tv, sports, music, and beyond. She is also the creator of the BITE SIZE SHORT grant program.”
Winners will have a one-night theatrical screening at Regal Cinemas. Submissions Close April 8 at Midnight. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2024. Shorts must be shot and through post-production by June 30, 2024. The screening will take place on July 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.
WOMXNOGRAPHY, HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, and Rodriguez are represented by Azhar PR, Granderson Des Rochers, and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.
To submit your short to the Bite Size Short Grant Program, go to the FilmFreeway link here.
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