Rookie director Can Evrenol’s trippy new flick Baskin doesn’t always make sense, but it had me riveted and cringing at the same time, really wanting to close my eyes sometimes but unable to tear my gaze away from the horrors onscreen.  Even as it became a bit laborious and repetitive towards the end, it was still a heck of a ride.

After a brief prologue featuring rookie officer Arda (Gorkem Kasal) as a young boy getting scared by the sounds of passion coming from his mother’s room (and by a bloody hand creeping out from a doorway–more on that later) we are thrust into the present where Arda, his boss Remzi (Muharrem Bayrak) and a few other fellow cops are eating a late-shift dinner (with grisly meat dished up by a weird robed figure). After a few moments of character-establishing, the group gets a distress call from another police officer in a town down the road. They all pile into their car and (rather jovially, with singing and whatnot) head out to give an assist.

It might be tempting to dismiss these opening scenes as just weird for weird’s sake (the disembodied hand [which may or may not be older Arda reaching out to his younger self], the robed meat-purveyor, a plethora of frogs everywhere) but Evrenol’s got a bit more on his plate.  On their way, the cops nearly hit a figure that runs out in the middle of the road, crash their car, meet up with some creepy locals, and finally walk to where the call for help originated. They see a deserted squad car parked in front of a large abandoned building, its lights flashing ominously. When they enter they find another officer standing next to a wall, beating his forehead bloody against it. They also find The Father (Mehmet Cerrahoglu, an odd little first-time actor) and his disciples. Or does he find them?

The cops are held prisoner by The Father and subjected to all kinds of horrible things as a way of…reaching enlightenment? Paying for past sins? Just because? When the actions become their grisliest the narrative breaks down a bit. There are fractures in time and space (at a number of junctures Arda and the Chief are back in the restaurant, calmly talking, as if nothing has happened) and hints that The Father somehow knew they were coming and was expecting them. If all these cops were total jerks (instead of just one of them), the things they endure might be more fitting or feel more justified.

The fact that this is Evrenol’s first movie is astounding. He knows exactly what he is doing: camerawork, editing, sound, and lighting all come together with the sure hand of a master.  I really enjoyed this movie, and I am looking forward to the next one from him. Uncle Mike sez check this out.

And watch out for frogs.