Housewife

I have been several times to Turkey on vacation. Of course only to relax, drink alcohol, shop and see Turkish history buildings. Usually when you think about Turkey you think about the typical vacation packages, made for tourists. But i understand now that there is so much more to experience in Turkey, outside the tourist attractions. I have been thinking about visiting Ankara and Istanbul, since i am interested in history. Of course the live music would be interesting to hear as well, especially Turkish folk songs. When you think about Turkish movies, i can tell you right away that i have barely seen any films at all from Turkey. Why ? Simply because cinemas in Sweden never show that many films made in Turkey. I may have missed some films, but you don´t really hear about new Turkish films here. But there is one film i do remember seeing that is made in Turkey. A horror film called Baskin, released here in Sweden by the company Njutafilms ( who release a lot of films on DVD and Blu Ray in different genres ). I bought the DVD of Baskin and i have to say, it turned out to be one of the better horror movies i watched in 2016. Baskin tell the story of a police patrol that go to an abandoned building, where a satanic ritual is taking place. And this is where everything goes completely wrong. The ritual scenes in Basking are really brutal, and very well made considering the budget. If you love horror movies with practical effects, than you will enjoy Baskin for sure. Director Can Evrenol proved with Baskin that a Turkish horror movie was better than a lot of American horror releases. I remember listening to an interview with director Can Evrenol on YouTube, and hearing what inspired him to make Baskin was interesting to hear. Since i watch a lot of horror movies every year, i can´t keep up with all the releases since so many films are coming out. But i acidently stumbled upon director Can Evrenol latest film called Housewife. Something that i really made this film look interesting, was the look of the poster. Almost like a throwback to the 60´s or 70´s, and i have to say i love that idea of the poster. Since i really enjoyed the Turkish horror film Baskin, is Housewife another great film from director Can Evrenol, or is the magic lost with his latest film ?

On a snowy winter, little girl Holly witness her own mother murder her sister and her father. Many years later, when Holly ( Clémentine Poidatz ) is an adult, she is living a good life. Suddenly one day while having dinner with friends, they suggest that she should go and listen to a man named Bruce ( David Sakurai ), leader of some sort of cult called ULM ( Umbrella Of Love And Mind ). The leader of ULM notice Holly in the audience and approach her. Holly suddenly gets flashbacks from her past, that seems to be connected to her dead family members. After this seance, Holly feels a connection to Bruce in an unexpected way. But what is ULM really all about, and why have Holly been chosen for an unknown reason ?

I am sorry to say that Housewife is a disappointment to me. And i was hoping i would enjoy this film, since i enjoyed Baskin. But this film is way too slow, and don´t really offer much into the horror genre. Until the last 15 minutes, then this film actually lifts up into a completely different level. In the last 15 minutes of Housewife, we get some really disturbing gory scenes. And this is where this film finally capture the right tone, that we should have had more of from the beginning. The brutality in the end shows that this film could have been something special. The biggest problem for me with Housewife, is that the religious cult message does not come across very clear in this film. If this was done more effective, i think this film could have been more interesting. Instead we get a pretty dull horror film, that does not take the subject serious enough. To mention something positive, we have the lead actor Clémentine Poidatz as the wife Holly. She is actually a highlight in this film, and i can´t blame her for the bad parts of this film. I especially enjoy her performance in the final scenes of the film, where she manage to deliver some solid acting. But when it comes to other characters, it becomes a little bit thin. Sure, the cult leader Bruce ( played by actor David Sakurai ) does a pretty good job at the end of the film, he does not come off really clear from the beginning as a strong cult leader. I suppose because the film does not really give him a clear portrait of a dangerous cult personality. If he only could have been as good as he is towards the end, i would have seen this film more interesting. Director Can Evrenol have tried to go in a different direction with this film, compared to Baskin. I like his idea about a religious cult, and he does pull off a great ending. But other than that i feel that Housewife loose a lot of power with the lack of more powerful scenes of cult activities. Evrenol should have let loose more insanity in a film like this, instead of holding it back. Housewife is not a terrible horror film, just quite boring for the most part. If you enjoyed Baskin, you might want to see Housewife just to see director Can Evrenol do a different kind of horror film. Otherwise, i suggest you watch Baskin again instead of Housewife.

Rating: DD