FIrst of all, Gomeda is NOT a horror film. It is a film made by a writer/director who has followed horror and surrealist cinema very closely. He is the author of a book titled "The Psychoanalysis of Horror Cinema". He has created a work of art that expresses his surrealist ideas and pays tribute to some of the greatest of the genre of surrealist and horror film, particularly 80's horror. This tribute is done at times seriously, and at times with tongue-in- cheek. Almost all negative comments about this film are because of people who were expecting "the next big horror film" and instead were exposed to writer/director Tan Tolga Demirci's subconscious. Of course, having seen the film, his subconscious is indeed a very unique place to be in so the experience of seeing GOMEDA is NOT pure entertainment. Instead, it is a roller-coaster ride through symbols, images and vignettes that are part of the style of Tan Tolga Demirci.
Turkey has had its share of "horror" films coming out in the recent years. These films have relied heavily on ads and press releases that have pushed the "horror" concept so far that some filmmakers have obnoxiously claimed their film will make history, as we saw with the film "Araf", which, by the way, is now on IMDb's worst 10 list of all time. Naturally, public in Turkey has been through repeated insults of expecting "the next great Turkish horror film" but experiencing only Rip-offs of J-horror. In a culture that wants to befriend its local film industry and cinematic heritage, people get excited to discover "the next great Turkish horror film". Naturally, those expecting GOMEDA to be the saviour of their expectations, instead saw the vision of a filmmaker inspired by Bunuel, Svankmajer, Jean Vigo, and, of course, 80's horror films.
Gomeda was Number 1 at the box office on its opening weekend. Online forums are flooded with praises for this film, and already discussions have ensued where people have started to breakdown the film, scene-by-scene, and analyze its contents and subtle nuances.
Gomeda flows with the love for cinema and the love for the greatest artisans of this craft. Tan Tolga Demirci is sharing this love with us, as well as his psyche, and is breaking the 4th wall of Turkish cinema, where the audience is no longer a bystander, but an active participant in a young genius' mind. So is Tan Tolga Demirci.
