Kilink Vs. The Flying Man / Kilink Strip & Kill

Kilink Vs. The Flying Man / Kilink Strip & Kill

Original Title: Kilink uçan adama karsi / Kilink soy ve öldür

Directed by: Yilmaz Atadeniz

Turkey, 1969

Action /Adventure, 49 min / 92min

Distributed by: OnarFilm

The more I see of Turkish Genre cinema the more I find myself draw into it’s naïve, cheap as dirt, but appealing and enthusiastic charm. It’s no understatement that the world seen through the eyes of a cineaste is happier place since so many passionate distributors and real enthusiasts are making sure that these movies become available in the best possible conditions.

The masked antihero is no stranger to those who have explored the alternative cinema treasures found around our great planet. From the wrestling rings of the Lucha Libre, to the Henchmen of Yakuza, although there’s still have the pleasure of discovering Kilink – The masked avenger from Istanbul!

If I didn’t know better, I’d say that the Kilink movies where cheap rip offs of Mario Bava’s iconic Diabolik (Danger Diabolik) 1968, just like the bigot morons who don't do their research. But actually the Killing comics where produced pre Diabolik, the Kilink books and movies are made before John Law Philip hid his face away behind the mask and are in many ways pretty dammed good counterparts to that later Italian entry to the masked anti hero.

Kilink is in some ways a take on the Italian antihero Satanik, which started out as photographic comic magazine aimed at an adult audience – just like those fabulous Mexican El Santo and Blue Demon comics that also where photographs with captions written in on the images, fantastic stuff. Although Kilink always took things a step further and really held no moral judgment at all, he was a one man crime wave who stopped at nothing to take out the other bandits that stood in his way – so in a fascinating irony he works on both sides of the law.

Three instalments are what make up this fabulous suite of Kilink movies directed by Yilmaz Atadeniz. Ten movies all in all make up the series, and it wastes no time to jump-start the action and roll out the melodrama.

The original film; Kilink Istanbul’da (Killing in Istanbul) 1967, was also directed by Yilmaz Atadeniz just like the first sequel Kilink uçan adama karsi (Kilink Vs. The Flying Man), which picks up right where the first one ended.

Kilink kills a professor in search for secret documents at the end of the first movie, and in the sequel the professors son Mr Orhan, is granted superpowers to claim his vengeance. By uttering the special words Shajam (Shazam…) he turns into “The Flying Man” who easily beats the crap out of Kilink’s men. But Kilink won’t take it and soon turns the tables on Mr. Orhan when he kidnaps the some other old geezer and his two daughters, one which happens to be Orhan’s girlfriend. Kilink takes them all to his “Devil’s Island” secret lair. And obviously it doesn’t take too long before Orhan is on his way to rescue them!

Hilarious dialogue likes the two henchmen bitching about the girls being to tired for them when they get off heir shift certainly holds something of a Austin Powers humor in it. Also the fisherman who helps the professor and daughters flee is very reminiscent of Ömer – the lad comedy character from Tourist Ömer Uzay Yolunda (Ömer the Tourist in Star Trek) the Turkish equivalent to the Carry on Gang or Swedens Åsa-Nisse.

This second movie is somewhat of an oddity – as they all are to be honest. First there’s an almost twenty minute recap of the original movie, which then leads up to the culmination of the “flyingman” stories, which at the same time set’s off the premise for the third movie. Kilink vs the Flyingman does miss some of the ending, but its been rebuilt with archive footage and stills to re-create the climax of the movie. Hey it worked for dear old Stroheim in Queen Kelly 1932 – supposedly one of film history’s finest movies, so why not here.

The final installment, or rather the third part available on DVD so far, picks up right where the second one ends – just like part two does, and is among the finest of the Turkish super hero action flicks ever. It’s moves fast and it’s quite possible that the print is missing some small scenes here and there, as it at times is kind of tricky to follow the plot at times.

Kilink soy ve öldür (Kilink – Strip & Kill) is outstanding and perhaps one of Kilink’s darkest entries ever. Two rival gangs of mobsters are both out to lay their grubby hands on a microfilm. Kilink finds himself wham bam in the middle of both fractions, and this gives him a great opportunity to confiuse and create mayhem as he sports a variation of disguises to infiltrate and confuse his foes. Not to mention the amount of women he seduces along his way. Throw in a few good car chases, some shootouts and the obligatory misogynistic torture scene here and there and you have a remarkablely entertaining Kilink flick.

Obviously the movies are cheap, cheesy, semi sleazy whenever they can be, but absolutely superb little oddities that will bring delight to any fan of obscure cinema. The movies have terrific soundtracks, with a score that is very reminiscent of John Barry’s theme to On Her Majestys Sectet Service 1969. It’s very catchy and very fitting for a catchy flick too.

Yilmaz Atadeniz, who also directed the fabulous Casus kiran (Spy Smasher) 1968, technically directed the first Turkish Superman movie as Kilink Vs. The Flyingman features Superman as Kilink’s force of antagonism… well perhaps a mixture of Batman and Superman then to be honest but it’s still the first Superman-ish villain, as Kunt Tulgar’s Süpermen dönüyor (The Return of Superman) wasn’t released until 1979.

Behind the mask there’s the talent of Yildirim Gencer who played the masked maniac in all three of Atadeniz Kilink Kilink entries, but also held leading parts in stuff like Atadeniz superhero flicks Casus Kiran (Spy Smasher) 1968 and Casus kiran – ydei canli adam (Spy Smasher: Man of 7 lives) 1970 which also saw him fighting out against Irfan Atasoy, the Flying man and Orhan of the first two Kilink movies.

Considering that they where shot back to back with each other it’s fitting that OnarFilms team up both Kilink Vs. The Flying Man and Kilink – Strip and Kill on this great disc and they make a great double feature. Also it has to be pointed out that Kilink Vs. The Flying Man was indeed a lost gem, because it hasn’t been available in any format at all since OnarFilms resurrected it from the dead. I can honestly say that these two films are all you need to make up a splendid night of Turkish Fantastic cinema!

You can still get your hands on this double shot of fantastic Turkish cinema from Onar Films, and for a very limited time they are even offering the very last of Yilmaz Atadeniz, rare original movie Kilink Isanbul’da (Killing in Istabul) 1967. It’s the last of the batch reclaimed by the one-man army at OnarFilms to once again make sure that the real fans of Turkish fantastic cinema get an opportunity to see these fantastic movies.

So go get some Kilink right now, you won’t regret it!

Image

Black and White, 4:3

Audio:

2.0 Stereo, Turkish with optional Greek or English subtitles.

Extras:

OnarFilms releases are always packed with great extras that will give you an insight into Turkish cinema and almost always feature interviews with directors and actors. Here you get written interviews with Yilmaz Atadeniz, a filmed interview with him and star, Irfan Atasoy, a photo gallery, and trailers for other Onarfilms releases.

Cellat

Cellat
Aka: The Executioner,
aka. Turkish Death Wish
Directed by: Memduh Ün
Turkey, 1975
Action/Thriller, 78min
Distributed by: Onar Films

I’m really enjoying going through the releases of lost Turkish cinema classics brought to us by Onar Films. There’s something tremendously appealing with those fascinating pieces of movie history that finally have seen the day of light and in the best shape they have been since initially being made back in the day.

Cheap, gritty, sleazy and violent but ever so entertaining pieces of wonderful fantastic cinema that deserve to be seen once again.

In the wake of Michael Winner’s controversial and successful common man out for revenge flick Death Wish 1974 starring the late great Charles Bronson, there was an endless flow of vigilante / revenge movies hitting the market. Like many other places domestic filmmakers where getting in on the action and producing some really great stuff. Needless to say even the producers and companies of Turkey’s Yesilçam wanted their share and one of those movies to finally resurface after years of being missing in the dark vaults is Memduh Ün’s Cellat.

But instead of simply copy, pasting the plot and climax from Winner’s movie - even if it does play almost identically at times - screenwriter Bülent Oran actually wrote a script that predates Winner’s sequel, Death Wish 2 1982 and brings more to that character and the law enforcement trying to bring the vigilante to justice. It’s a hard hitting, fast moving flick that after a somewhat deceptive opening get’s right in there and proves that there where certainly some splendid movies made in Turkey during the seventies.

Successful architect Orhan [Serdar Gökhan] returns from a wonderful holiday in the woods with his wife Filiz [Ernel Özden], his beloved little sister Sevgi [Melek Ayberk], and brother in law Jahit [Mahmut Hekimoglu]. After returning to work in the city, he is appalled to read in the papers of the violent crimes that have been taking place in Istanbul whilst he’s been away.

At the same time Orhan's wife Feliz and little sister Sevgi return home from a shopping spree only to be confronted by three vile, and almost comical thugs Jemal [Oktar Durukan], Hasan [Ibrahim Kurt] and leader Sabri [Tarik Simsek] that have come down from the hills to vent their frustrations on the wealthy inhabitants of the city. Possibly portrayed as comic louts at first to differ them drastically from the mature and very down to earth characters seen in the opening sequence, and also to harden the acts they are about to commit. The thugs break into Orhan’s home only to humiliate, beat and rape the two defenceless women. Meeting his brother in law at hospital, Orhan is devastated to learn that his wife has passed away and his sister is in a coma.

The cops lead by Commissioner Nejati [Reha Yurdakul – who you can see in a whole bunch of other Onar Film releases like Yilmaz Atadeniz’s Casus Kiran (Spy Smasher) 1968 and Kunt Tulgar’s Süpermen Dönüyor (The Return of Superman) 1979 and Iilhan Engin’s Kadin düsmani (The Woman Despiser) 1967] – anyhow, they are fairly uninterested in Orhan’s frustration for the lack of leads to the guilty gang, tell him to keep calm and await for his sister to come around so that she can give them the valuable information that they need.

Fed up with police neglect, growing crime statistics and a desire for vengeance, Orhan fills a sock with quarters – we even get to see him make the with drawl from the bank – and takes his frustration to the streets. This frustration builds and builds as he starts to make his way through the underbelly of Istanbul leaving the former gentle and loving Orhan further and further behind and gradually descending into a one man death machine out for revenge.

This change in character is fascinating, and it’s built delicately, there’s no sudden decision to become something else, it get the space it needs and Orhan is always a believable character. Breaking it down in an easy way the movie has a pretty lot of small character traits seeping through the movie that in some way’s make Serdar Gökhan’s Mr. Orhan a much more likeable and empathetic character than Bronson’s Paul Kersay. Where there’s not much time spent establishing a sympathetic persona for Bronson in Death Wish, Oran and Ün make sure that Orhan is a really, really good guy before the dark transformation takes place. He’s out with his wife and sister on romantic holidays; he tends to an injured dog, he wishes for love and happiness for all his family and friends. Even the scenes at Orhan’s architect office show how respected he is by friends and colleagues. He’s a good guy, it’s easy to like him.

This line of decency continues, and is brilliantly shown when he returns from his first lethal confrontation with a backstreet thug. Filled with nauseating remorse he vomits violently when coming to terms with the fact that he just killed a fellow human being. Now these establishing traits are of outmost importance, as the later will be polarized when Orhan finally get’s his revenge. The kind, gentle character has become a dark, vengeful death machine that shows no mercy at all.

There’s an effective use of a clever plot device in the shape of Sevgi’s necklace. It’s a great little detail that at first seems random as the rapists rip it from her neck, later when it returns in the Club Love Story when Sabri buys his way with a prostitute [Anuşka] for the jewellery we expect Orhan, who just had a drink at the place, to get that rush of insight and bring the bad guys to justice. But instead it’s cunningly held back and only later does it return as Orhan has been broken down to the lowest point of his tour of vengeance. Shot in the leg, bleeding profoundly and suffering terribly from his injuries, he breaks into an apartment and finds the prostitute that Sabri paid with Sevgi’s necklace. He finally has his lead and the movie can shift into top gear and final act with full speed.

And even though the opening titles may seem like something a kid threw together, and the starting segment somewhat cheesily sets up the character of Orhan and family, it does get dark and hard pretty fast. His character develops, or rather degenerates into the murder machine, and when his personal justice is served it is definitely in the most evil, sadistically and righteous manner. You will be cheering Orhan on as the thugs finally get their comeuppance. Even the cops stand by and almost give Orhan a nod of appreciation as he’s completed his task, hands over his shooter and walks away from the carnage.

Cellat is a brilliant piece of Yesilçam cinema, and really shows Turkish Exploitation film at its best. It’s gritty, it’s rough, and it goes all in taking no prisoners what so ever. Revenge is served up without any mercy at all. Serdar Gökhan is a great leading man, who not only has that great character arc, but also show’s that a hero character can take a few deep wounds and limp his way through the rest of his mission. I get quite annoyed when hero characters take one hell of a beating, stabbing or even like here get shot, and simply walk around as if nothing happened. Gökhan suffers from his wounds and brings them with him in each following scene, which at the same time adds immensely to his character. He will make them pay at all costs, and his reward for the great performance he gives is obviously the many parts as the leading man out for revenge that he played in the movies to follow Cellat.

Bülent Oran’s script is well written, as there is a depth to the lead character that commonly is pretty friggin’ shallow in this kind of niche. He also brings a fresh new twist to the end of the movie that differs from the original source. Ironically the writers of the movie that inspired this one used the same kind of ending in their sequel to Death Wish twelve years later. Even though the movie is within the exploitation sphere, there are some wonderful shots by cinematographer Kaya Ererez who uses some great angles and locations in his compositions. I absolutely love the many scenes featuring Orhan surrounded by thugs often located in stairwells, or tight spaces. It makes for some inventive cinematography, and splendid shootouts with a lot of movement. Mehmut Ün had been directing movies since the mid fifties, and moved freely in a wide range of genres and receiving several awards and nominations for his films. Amongst the few of his titles available domestically the secret agent flick Altin çocuk (Golden Boy) 1966 – also scripted by Bülent Oran, which you can easily obtain from Onar Films, and if you want to read all about that movie here’s a patch through to the splendid Ninja Dixon. Ün also produced near one hundred movies, acted in three dozen films, wrote scripts and directed somewhere near eighty films between his debut Yetim yavrular (The Orphans) in 1955, and his last film to date Sinema bir mucizedir (Cinema is a Miracle) 2005, starring Kadir Inanir who starred as Yilmaz in Mehmet Aslan’s grim Gialloesque Aska susayanlar seks ve cinayet (Thirsty for Love, Sex and Murder) 1972.

The soundtrack to Cellat is awesome. It’s certainly eclectic, much of it very traditional and the kind that you would expect in a Turkish movie and some is surprisingly suave with a hint of jazz prog that could have come right out of an Italian Poliziotteschi flick.

Fans of great genre pieces really need to get themselves over to Onar Films right now, and pick up some of the movies released there. The site has just been revamped and there are some great offers available right now. And while you are at it, pick up a copy of Mahmut Ün’s Cellat, as the limited release of 500 pieces is starting to run out.

Image:

Full screen 4:3

Audio:

Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0. Turkish Dialogue, optional English or Greek subtitles.

Extras:

As usual the Onar Film releases are packed with extras, here there’s a great half hour feature on Turkish revenge films, Selected filmographies, the original theatrical trailer for Cellat, and other titles available from Onar Films. Last but not least that great fold out poster art for the poster of Cellat.

The Dead Don't Talk / Thirsty for Love, Sex and Murder - Turkish Horror Double Bill

The Dead Don’t Talk
Original Title: Ölüler Konuşmaz Ki
Directed by: Yavuz Yalinkiliç
Turkey, 1970
Horror, 76 min.
Distributed by: Onar Films

As you may recall in my rant on Kutluğ Ataman’s The Serpent’s Tale (Karnalik Sular) and the Turkish cinema – Yesilçam- it also had it’s own spectacular rise and fall producing some amazing movies of the fantastic genres during a brief period. But one of the most saddening facts about this time period is that when ticket sales once again halted and distributors and companies in a search to reclaim their money took drastic measures to get back their investments. Selling what they could to TV and foreign Video distribution, many of the movies left where destroyed to extract the silver contained in the prints. You can just imagine the amounts of films lost for all eternity for the small winnings that the devastating process gave in return.

With the tragic butchering of cinematic pop culture that took place in the mid eighties, it’s no wonder that the missing movies of their Fantastic scene are such sought after delights, and in some ways we do not demanded to have restored widescreen images and Dolby Digital 5.1 re-mastered soundtracks for these rarities – we will make do with what can be found – after all it’s either these releases or not at all. And it is fascinating to see the treasure hunters, or cinematic archaeologists if you like, come out from their intense searches with cultural heritage that one has thought missing forever now returned from the dead, no longer banished to the land of the Lost.

Onar Films Horror Double feature is a splendid investment for anyone who wants’ to get a grasp of what horror in Turkey could be like, as it features two movies made during the early seventies that are two completely different ways of approaching horror. One a classical old-school ghost in the haunted house flick and the other a contemporary arty Giallo flick with razor wielding killers, hot dames and eclectic soundtrack. In their own way, both movies are highly interesting, and also the short two years in between them goes to show just how fast trends and audience demands can shift, both creating and breaking new ground.

Fist out, Yavuz Yalinkiliç’s 1970, black and white Goth haunted house horror Ölüler Konuşmaz Ki (The Dead Don’t Talk) which they do, and even laugh ominously on each given occasion – so perhaps the dead laugh may have been a better title.

Yalinkiliç wastes no time setting the tone, creepy music and sinister laughter echo over the opening credits – and that’s pretty much the tone that you will get throughout the film, light hearted Goth horror not to different to the A.I.P films of the US, European flicks from Spain, France Italy and obviously the Hammer films of the UK produced during the sixties and seventies.

Melih [Aytekin Akkaya – one of the greatest Turkish genre stars along with Cünyet Arkin], and Oya, have been invited up to the mansion of the late Mr. Adem, presumably on business. It’s the 15th night of the month, and their coach driver makes sure to point this out to the youngsters before dropping them off outside the mansion and taking off like a bat out of hell. Melih and Oya enter the mansion only to find it empty, but strangely enough, the table in the dining room is set for two. The enigmatic servant Hassan [Giray Alpan – who actually looks like Vincent Price!] makes an entrance and greets them with phrases like Mr. Adem’s soul will be pleased. Later on Hassan lures away Oya to a living room sporting an executioners block and a portrait of a woman. He breaks down in tears in front of the photograph bawling on about how the woman, just like all beauties, leave him to wander the halls of the mansion alone. Later that night as Oya sleeps, Melih investigates the strange sounds he hears from downstairs and encounters the ghoul! The ghoul [Jirayir Ciracki] laughs as Melih empties his gun into the entity and stomps menacingly forth.

With some splendid in camera trick cinematography and the use of mirrors the ghoul seems to be indestructible as Melih shoot’s into a mirror. But the ghost can’t be stopped and both Melih and Oya lose their lives to the hands of the ghoul. Now we have had a pretty long set up of the ghost, the mansion and the curse of the fifteenth day, when the ghoul rises from his tomb.

Time to bring on the second batch, the new schoolteacher Sema [Sema Yaprak] arrives with the coach from the opening scene. She rides past two herdsmen, Kerem and Hodja. Meeting up the Director (the headmaster) Mr. Nuri, she installs herself in the mansion of Mr. Adem. Pretty soon the laughing ghost is up and about again, Hassan pulls his “woe poor me” shtick again and we see that everything is heading towards the same results as the first segment. But a rather unexplored relationship that has developed between Kerem and Sema has Kerem and his two friends Hodja Imam and Remzi make it their mission to put an end to the ghoul that walks the night.

After the ghoul knocks on Sema’s window late at night begging her to let him in, Sema flees and tries to hide at the home of Mr. Nuri. This leads her to the conclusion that Mr. Nuri is possessed or possibly housing the soul of the ghoul! Using herself as bait, Sema, Kerem, Remzi and Mr Imam go up against the ghoul in a final battle that has the ghoul begging for mercy as they taunt him with Holy Scripture and sacred artefacts. He melts before their very eyes leaving Sema and Kerem to walk off together into the sunrise.

I was quite worried as I started to watch Ölüler Konuşmaz Ki, as the first few minutes give a somewhat wrong impression of the movie. After the initial sequence and the introduction of Sema the movie really picks up and finds a decent Goth horror style in it’s own quirky way. There’s some classy cinematography, like the mentioned mirror scene, which is used for both parts of the movie, and some fabulous wide shots that really use the location wonderfully to bring some real atmosphere to the film.

If you frequently read the stuff I put up here you know how much I cherish a sceptic protagonist as it makes the transition into the world of horror from the ordinary word so much easier for us. Several times there are referents to this world, which in 1970 obviously was making huge progress, only a few years earlier the space race had started, technology was arriving and within a couple of years the video boom, cell phones and internet would be common household items. In the first sequence Melih states “superstitions are a thing of the past”, later Kerem say’s “In this century when people go to the moon, why do these ghost stories still exist?”

It could possibly be that Yalinkiliç’s wanted to make the statement that even though technology and progress prevails, it’s of out most importance that we don’t forget our history and cultural heritage. Even if it means believing in scary stories and laughing ghouls.

In the first sequence of the film you will see Aytekin Akkaya in a very early role. Later Akkaya would hold parts in Antonio Margheritti’s Ark of the Sun God and Yor both 1983, and was also in Çetin Inanc’s Dünyayi kurtan adam (The Man who Saves the World), the one you probably know better as Turkish Star Wars 1973 which saw him act against Cünyet Arkin, and T. Rikret Uçak’s hillarious 3 dev adam (The Three Mighty Men) 1973 where he was Captain America.

Thirsty for Love, Sex and Murder

Original Title: Aşka susayanlar seks ve cinayet

Directed by: Mehmet Aslan

Turkey 1972

Giallo, 58 min.

Distributed by: Onar Films

Next up a movie completely different in tone – Mehmet Aslan’s Aşka susayanlar seks ve cinayet (Thirsty for Love, Sex and Murder) 1972, made only two years after Ölüler Konuşmaz Ki. As cinema started loosing ticket sales to the modern thrills of TV entertainment, movie producers started looking for other tricks and delights to lure the audiences back into the darkness of the cinemas – and what better than graphic death, violence and sex! Aşka susayanlar seks ve cinayet is definitely not your average Goth horror but a fast moving shitkicker that brings all of the classic Giallo traits right into the heart of Istanbul. And it leaves an impression that will leave you craving more.

This one starts off just as you would have thought, with an initial attack to set up the masked, gloved antagonist, when he picks up a hitchhiker only to abuse, rape and slash her to bits with a straight razor a few minutes later. Hot crumpet Mine [Meral Zeren] on the way home with her husband, Metin [Nihat Ziylalan] learns of the violent death of the young woman and instantly has flashbacks to a terrifying experience she had herself as a younger woman. Her then abusive boy friend Tarik [Yildrim Gencer – who played the masked Kilink in Yilmaz Atadeniz’s Kilink Istanbul’da 1967] raped, slashed and beat her to a pulp and left her for dead in the muddy terrain at the end of their turbulent relationship. The scar that Mine after the last assault left him with is the only thing that the cops can identify the killer by, as hat was the last thing the murder victim remarked on before dying. Being Giallo territory the pace is rapid and during a cocktail party we are introduced to the rest of the key characters; Mine’s best friend Oya [Eva Bender who starred in many of Aslan’s Tarkan films] Yilmaz [Kadir Inanir] who soon will become Mine’s love interest, and lurking in the background - Mine’s ex and our prime suspect for the initial attack, the sadistic Tarik!

After Yilmaz makes his suave introduction and sets his line of seduction in motion, Mine spots Tarik, who follows her out of the party and threatens her with a broken bottle to the face. Luckily her husband Metin arrives in the nick of time, and Tarik flees from the party.

Here starts the classic Giallo cat and mouse chase that we have come to love, as we try to keep up and figure out what is going on the plot shifts back and forth between several of the leading characters as we figure out who the killer is and what he wants’. And just as we would expect, as soon as we make a presumption, the whole thing skids off the rails and takes a new destination, and once again Mine is at the centre of attention again, but just whom can she trust? Her best friend, her husband, her new lover? We will never know until Aslan wraps it all up with the final twist, and lets us in on the secret of the plot that he’s been hiding behind his back all along, and it’s worth the wait.

I love the way this movie just get’s the formula, and nails the atmosphere of Gialli cinema straight off from the start. There’s none of the trying to be a Giallo like many other Gialli influenced movies that where made outside of Italy, often disappointing and confusing films that you won’t think twice about. Instead Mehmet Aslan hits the spot and proves that you don’t have to be an Italian to make an interesting piece of Gialli cinema.

Lies, depraved sexual appetites, sinister characters, black mail, red herrings and double crossing back stabbers, it sure is a Giallo in every sense. The soundtrack with it’s eclectic fuzzy guitar and gentle piano swirls, subjective camera, masked, gloved killer and there’s even a fabulous little scene where the lighting is very reminiscent of Mario Bava’s vivid colours of Blood and Black Lace [Sei donne per l'assassino] 1964. Thirsty for Love, Sex and Murder does satisfy that thirst and definitely delivers! It utilises the classic twist, turn, and surprise ending of many a great Giall and it's possible that Sergio Martino’s The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh 1970 may have influenced the plot, but I'd say that also Henri-George’s Clouzout’s Les Diabolique 1955 had a part in the plot as it plays off the same platform - the murder for inheritance plot. But don’t think for a second that Mehmet Aslan stops there as he definitely isn’t pulling a cheap copy of what he’s seen before, and pushes it a few steps further than you may have foreseen.

It’s a great movie that fans of Giallo cinema definitely should check out, and together the two films on Onar Films Turkish Horror Double Bill make up for a terrific night of genre cinema exploration. And if you still want more, just watch the almost two hours of supplemental features and you will be in Turkish genre cinema heaven.

Image:

Both films are presented in 4:3 Full screen.

Ölüler Konuşmaz Ki - Black/White

Aşka susayanlar seks ve cinayet - Colour.

Audio:

Mono 2.0 Turkish Dialogue with English or Greek subtitles optional.

Extras:

It’s not a genuine Onar Films release without the fantastic amount of extras that these discs bring with them. This time there’s interviews with the late Metin Demirhan – who passed away two years ago, way to young – one of the most insightful Turkish film experts ever, who puts both films into their correct context and historical time frame. Giovanni Scognamillo – a Turkish actor, writer and cinema historian, who also discusses Turkish cinema, and finally an extensive interview with actor and Turkish star Aytekin Akkaya, who also talks about his career and the movies of Turkish genre cinema. All in all there’s almost two hours of interviews and you will walk away a lot wiser on the subject than before. And have a complete new set of movies you want to see. There’s a photo gallery of sills and posters from Turkish Horror films, a gallery of Aytekin Akkaya stills, and a series of trailers for other titles released by Onar Films.

So once again. Get online and pick yourself up a copy of the Onar Films Turkish Horror Double Bill as they are on limited release of 1200 pieces only and once they are gone these films will once again return to the land of the lost, but this time not forgotten.

Karanlik Sular [The Serpent's Tale]

The Serpent’s Tale
Original Title: Karanlik Sular
Directed by: Kutluğ Ataman
Turkey, 1993
Horror/Drama, 83min
Distributed by: Onar Films

For the last few years, fans of fantastic cinema have been rejoicing over the availability of many rare Turkish movies that one previously only heard of, read about or seen clips of on that infinite source You Tube. Movies like Turkish Star Trek 1973, Turkish Star Wars 1982, 3 Adem Dev 1973, Tarkan 1969 and the Kilink movies have for ages been sought after gems, especially by those who faithfully read Pete Tombs Mondo Macabro book and set out to track down the movies he discusses there, an almost impossible task in itself. But like so many other lost gem’s of the minor and more independent studios, taking care of their source materials have not been the main priority, and more than often, the only remaining sources are in pretty beat up shape.

That’s where the real enthusiasts make an important difference.

In all honesty I haven’t really seen that many Turkish movies apart from Faith Akin's brilliant Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul 2005 and the obligatory Turkish Star Wars [Dünyayi kurtan adam] 1982 and Öhmer Tourist in Star Trek [Turist Ömer Uzay Yolunda] 1973, but then again there’s not that many Turkish films on DVD to start with is there. But that’s all changing thanks to Bill, a true enthusiast and his company - Onar Films - a Trojan Horse packed to the rim with amazing, lost treasures of Turkish Fantastic Cinema.

Even though the movies that us treasure hunters are familiar with may be in the more fantastic sphere and give an impression of being lower budget productions, Turkey was in no way a late comer to the world of cinema. As early as 1914 director Fuat Uzkinay shot the first Turkish movie, a documentary and only twenty years later Turkey even had their own equivalent of Hollywood, Yesilçam. In its prime during the 50’s-70’s Yesilçam was releasing between 250-350 films annually – and that’s probably not even counting all those glorious movies made by independent players. It says something of the quantities of film being produced there and the sad fact that many, many movies are really lost. Like so many other countries, Yesilçam saw production costs shoot through the roof, they also suffered from the advent of television, and later Video, leaving the cinemas almost empty and ticket sales dropping drastically. In the mid nineties there where sadly only a handful of movies being made each year.

But during the last fifteen - twenty years a new wave of directors have started coming forth, many of them with documentaries, comedies, dramas and horror is starting to creep back, and it's among these directors we find Kutluğ Ataman.

Kutluğ Ataman’s debut feature Karanlik Sular (The Serpents Tale) is an odd little jewel that walks that tender line between art house and horror. Not surprising if you have any insight into the later works of Ataman, who spent the early years of his career directing philosophical, arty dramas which focus more on the characters and style than staying true to the genre it uses as an inspirational basis. Ataman was acknowledged for his first feature and became a frequently featured guest at many film festivals where his movies often are awarded.

During the last decade, Ataman’s movies have slowly moved into pure art itself, and his installations have been shown in some of the finest art houses in the world. His piece Woman who wear wigs is currently being exhibited at Malmö Konsthall here in Sweden [10 October 2009 – 31 January 2010]

See, horror films do lead to good things!

Genre is sometimes a difficult thing to determine, what one person feels is a terrifying horror film, the next may call a drama with scary scenes. The Swedish movie Let The Right One In 2008 is a great example of those kinds of movies, ones that are more complicated to pigeonhole. I call them Dramas that use horror traits. And this is just the case with Karanlik Sular. There’s no debating that it’s a highly impressive movie, that definitely stands out among those other great titles released by Onar Films, as it moves in a more philosophical and art house circuit than being just a plain horror flick. Sure it does use traits from the Horror genre, and the main plot is horror related, but I’d probably not call it a horror film. But that’s only by definition and in no way a final say. If it scares you and puts the fear of god in your heart, they you can call it a horror film.

Karanlik Sular starts with a poetic little animated sequence telling the tale of a nineteenth century calligraphy artist named Mevhes who once wrote futuristic story that took place in 1990’s. Being insulted by the critique she received for her story, she licked herself away until the day she passed away. When she died in 1873 an equally strange series of events took place that destroyed the manuscripts leaving only notes and ancestors down told tales for Ataman to build his script upon.

The pretext explains, almost apologetic that Mevehs manuscript is based on the rules of the aruz metric system, Ottoman Divan Poetry and the aesthetics of Islamic Art of Calligraphy, which takes a detour from the classical plot device of cause and effect in favour of a rhythmic, decorative fashion and may not be easy to understand. There's also a warning that the manuscripts and possibly the movie are cursed. Ok…

But what does it mean?

The aruz metric System is the structure of Ottoman Divan Poetry, Ottoman Divan Poetry isn’t some bloke’s texts, but a form of ritualized and symbolic poetry not too know outside of Turkey written during the Ottoman Empire and influenced by Sufi thought. Sufi being the inner mystical dimension of Islam, and the aesthetics of Islamic Art, calligraphy included, primarily consist of anthropomorphic figures, and the intricate patterns all create an impression of unending repetition!

With all that in mind, the pretext falls into context, as just like the description of Mevhes texts above, it’s just what Ataman does with his film, it comes round full circle and gives the impression of easily being played in an eternal loop – Just like the aesthetics of Islamic Art. It makes sense when you take time to let it sink in, and I promise that I’ll get back to the curse later

After the pretext, we are placed in front of women crying as they watch images on a cinema screen. Images of a saddened woman throwing ashes into the sea, images that will come back later to make that pretext fall into place. Among the women sits an elderly gent, a young girl – Princess Theodora, Haldar, and Richie Hunter [Daniel Chace]. The little girl leaves the theatre, with teddy bear in hand, only to be followed by the old geezer. Hunter sneaks along and while the old man makes contact with the young girl Richie hides in the shadows. But before he can interact, he’s startled by Haldar [Metin Uygun] who picks up conversation with him. Trying to refocus on the little girl and the old man, Richie sees that the girl has disappeared leaving the man with a bleeding vampire bite to the neck.

Haldar takes Hunter out on a stroll though the night and the vampire elements are firmly established through his dialogue. It’s neat as the old initial attack and fanged hissing vampire is more often used, perhaps too much. This is a more subtle and just sneaks it into the story – Haldar talks about having to be enchanted before the bite, that he has to leave when he hears the church bells, that the little girl was Theodora, a Byzantine Princess and gives a warning to stop following her. He leaves Richie with a small cased medallion that he suggests he take to Haldar’s mother Lamia [Gönen Bozbey].

This is how Ataman presents his main plot and his lead characters, it’s effective and at the same time getting there rapidly, he's wasting no time. Pretty soon the whole thing starts unravelling as the mysterious medallion leads to the strange manuscripts that Lamia has, which her servant has secretly studied as to copy them for the cult he’s connected to. The cult want the manuscripts so that they can reshape the world religion, and rule as masters, and at the same time the vampires want the manuscripts too, which gives for some great moments of tension between the two fractions.

I feel that trying to analyze the movie is in some ways uncalled for and unfair, as I’m sure that each viewer will come to different conclusions about the movie with it's rich symbolism and enigmatic ending. Also I think that it may take away some of the mysticism of the film - You don’t need to know exactly what happens where before watching it. And watch it you should, because a movie with vampire mythos, cursed manuscripts, secret cults chasing the same fragments of paper and violent deaths lurking around every corner are just some of the wonders that this movie will show you.

So what about that curse mentioned in the pretext?

It is possible to read the movie as the pretext curse. Haldar found the manuscripts and became cursed – an undead wanderer, a slave of the vampires. Hunter who also comes in contact with the manuscripts also becomes cursed. Remember there’s that one scene where he suddenly feels that he’s been bitten and holds his bloodied neck. Well he ain’t himself after that and also becomes an undead, he’s been cursed. The Prophet! Cursed, his dabbling with the mysterious manuscripts cost him his life. And don’t forget Lamia’s chauffeur whom get’s an ice pick rammed in his eye while snooping for the scrolls whereabouts. And finally Lamia; she’s screwed from square one. She has lost everything from the moment Haldar hid the manuscripts in her home. Her family, her lover, her son and eventually her home - all gone. The only person who wins anything in this film is Lamia’s boyfriend (or whatever he is) because he gains everything. Life, a prosperous future and fortune – even it means burning down Lamia’s house and collecting the insurance money that he earlier forced her to sign over to him.

So Lamia has lost everything and in the final moments of the film she realizes this as her house burns. Scattering the ashes of her once great life (most likely Haldar and the house ashes) to the sea, we cut back to the cinema from the start of the movie and the story comes full circle, only to give the impression of all characters caught in an eternal loop. Remember - The aesthetics of Islam art. The manuscript of the movie is obviously Mevhes manuscript and the curse is very real in the narrative of the film. And I'll let you in on a little secret - it's all made up, the pretext, Mehves, the cursed manuscripts and everything else. Ataman wrote the script and worked that backstory into it masterfully, it's like the "based on a true story" gimmick used in so many classic horror films but much more meatier and elegantly performed.

Karanlik Sular takes a bold approach to its narrative interweaving social drama, strange cults and vampire mythos. Although the vampirism is possibly held to a minimum, I feel that it helps Ataman get away with some of the more confusing parts of the narrative. Not that this is a bad thing, directors like David Lynch, Peter Greenaway and Alejandro Jodorowsky have been getting away with strange movies by covering it in imagery, symbolism and slight of hand for ages.

As frequent readers of this site will know, I’m a sucker for imagery, it’s the stuff that can keep even the worst of films interesting and appealing for me. Karanlik Sular contains a load of great images and some wonderful compositions by cinematographer Chris Squires, who has worked on many a big budget Hollywood flicks since. Fantastic shots with dark deep colours, freaky lighting and all set in a decayed background of Istanbul to give a really dreamy and apocalyptic feeling. There’s no denying that Ataman’s art vibe is definitely a plus for the production, and I was thrilled by the way the movie looked, as I definitely have seen stuff that looks a hell of a lot worse off than this stylish little movie.

So yes, I enjoyed Karanlik Sular even though it has some minor flaws, but that’s why we enjoy alternative cinema and don’t waste our time going to see Avatar or the Twilight movies at the cinema. Karanlik Sular is an entertaining and definitely an interesting movie that had me surprised with its high production values and intriguing story. I wasn’t expecting such a treat, and my favourite sequence has to be the scenes where the vampires go underground to re-claim the sacred scrolls. It had me remembering the climax of Dario Argento’s Mother of Tears - but better. Kutluğ Ataman has with Karanlik Sular managed to create a suspenseful, visual and intriguing movie that really is top notch - odd, but fascinating.

I sincerely suggest that you get yourself over to the Onar Film’s store right now and treat yourself to something that you haven’t seen previously, because not only is this movie on limited 1200 edition release only, but it’s worth every penny and could just well be one of the best Turkish movie you’ll ever see.

Image:

16x9 widescreen version.

Audio:

2.0 mono Turkish and English Dialogue with optional English or Greek subtitles.

Extras:

The Onar Film releases are always filled with extras, Karanlik Sular is no exception. There’s an insightful interview with Kutluğ Ataman, who tells his story, a photo gallery, text biographies for cast and crew, excerpts from what European, American and Turkish press said about the movie and trailers for several other Onar Film releases

Go on, get your ass over there now!