This
is the notorious shameless (unofficial) Turkish remake of William Friedkin's
The Exorcist. Made the following year, it copies the original
Hollywood horror film - scene for scene - while replacing most of the
Christian references with Islamic counterparts. A young girl (this time
named Gul, played by Canan Perver) living with her mother becomes possessed
by Satan after fooling around with a Ouija board. All the familiar plotpoints
are there... the head spinning, the green [pea soup] vomiting, the 'Help
Me' message written from the inside across her stomach and, of course,
the scene where she stands at the top of the stairs peeing on herself
to the shock of her mother and the snooty party guests. Many of the
shots are verbatim and the house is a perfect replica even including
the long flight of steps leading up to the front door. Of course, the
soundtrack is also Tabular Bells.
Director
Metin Erkson was one of Turkey's most accomplished filmmakers. Initially
he concentrated on making 'think pieces' with emphasis on cultural and
social issues. By the mid '60s, he abandoned
'art films' for more lucrative blockbuster actioners. After 30 years,
in 1983, he gave up filmmaking and began teaching at Istanbul Mimar
Sinan University. He embraced his new career, refusing to talk about
(or even acknowledge) his motion pictures for the rest of his life.
Mr Erkson died of kidney failure in August 2012 at age 83.
A Turkish film with
English subtitles; fullscreen format (4:3), uncut (101 minutes), DVD
encoded for ALL REGION NTSC WORLD FORMAT.
