Rating: B-
Dir: Iman Tahsin
Star: Ekim Magden, Buket Kurtez, Gokce Ozyol, Burcu Almeman
a.k.a. Izliyorlar
Be careful what you wish for. If there’s an overall message in this Turkish horror anthology, it’s probably that. For all three installments unfold, to some extent, as the result of a decision with unexpected consequences. In contrast to the previous Turkish franchisee we’ve covered, such as Dabbe and Siccin, this is more secular, with little in the way of an overt religious theme. Maybe because the director here is Iranian? However, there is still a strong morality present. There are some things with which mankind should not meddle: just leave things alone, rather than trying to change them. Oh, and Tahsin does not appear to be a cat person, to put it mildly.
The first feels like a riff on The Monkey’s Paw, with Orhan (Magden), seeking to bring back his dead mother. There’s a company, very much operating under the radar, that will do so for a price, and Mom duly shows up. Never mind the weird smell, which he has been assured will go away in time. This, however, is only the start, because the resurrection goes as well as such things usually do in horror movies. There’s a Stephen King vibe here, with a sense of black humour that’s very appealing. For instance, when he finds his mother hiding in a closet, Orhan wonders is she’s suffering from “grave separation anxiety.” While there are no real surprises, it’s enjoyably nasty, in an EC Comics way.
If that one was more feline-adjacent, the cat is central to the narrative of the next part. Ayse (Kurtez) gets a new pet for her young daughter, but it comes with unwanted baggage. It’s not long before weird noises and incidents start taking place around the apartment, and the daughter starts talking about “Kathy”. Initially, Ayse thinks this is the cat, but when the little girl mentions Kathy’s shoes… Yeah, perhaps there was a reason the previous owner was so enthusiastic about getting rid of the animal. Although it feels somewhat as if this back story was more interesting than the main one, it all comes together nicely.
In the final part, it’s explicitly about wishes, with Dr. Oktay (Ozyoi) coming into possession of a powder which grants them. His wife makes the frankly ill-advised decision to wish for their cat to turn into the real child she has always wanted, and the next morning, that’s exactly what has happened. Of course, such things are never granted quite how the wisher wants. In this case, though the child is physically human, he still has the mind of a cat. I did feel this left a lot of potential on the table, i.e. the kid needed to behave considerably more catlike, leaving it the weakest entry. However, every anthology has a weakest entry, and two out of three ain’t bad. Even Chris, not typically a fan of Turkish horror, admitted to liking this overall, and its appeal should be capable of crossing borders.