They’ve finally done it! They’ve made a Turkish “I Know What You Did
Last Summer”! I wonder if the original title was “I Know What You Did in Turkey Last Summer” or maybe “I Know What You Did WITH The Turkey Last Summer”.
What?
Oh yeah, the review… Well, since this heavily borrows from Kevin
Williamson, it’ll help familiarize you with the story if I list out the main characters, explain their purpose to the plot and of course compare them to the Americans actors who’d be playing them if this was a “Scream” type movie.
Gokalp (Burak Altay), introverted, shy, artistic, aspiring writer nerd who pines for Guldem, would be played by Jake Gyllenhal – committed suicide after a letter of his intended for Guldem was read in front of the whole school by a laughing Ersin.
Guldem (Nehis Erdogan), our head girl, dates the smarmy Ersin, she really wants to be a singer but is being pressured by heartless Ersin to work as a bank teller or something. She’s still troubled by Gokalp’s death after a year. She’s even more troubled when new letters begin to appear at her door, all signed by Gokalp. Would be played by Shannon Elizabeth.
Ersin (Berk Hakman), the head douchebag. He’s dating Guldem and of course treats her like dirt; but then goes kissy kissy poo-poo and she melts all over him. It doesn’t bother him at all that Gokalp is dead because of something he did and reacts violently to anyone who suggests he was even remotely responsible. Would be played by Josh Hartnett or Ryan Phillipe.
Burak (Cem Kilic), the head douchebag’s comic relief pal. He’s got that braying laugh and is not too bright. His job is to suggest that everyone go into the darkest place in the school at night to party when it’s obvious that something is after them. This role’s got Matthew Lillard or Seann William Scott written all over it.
Sebnem (Sinem Kobal,) the head girl’s best friend and girlfriend to the head douchebag’s friend. She’s not mean, not nice. Her purpose is to go “Ew GROSS!” or “You guys aren’t REALLY going to do that are you?”before giving in and joining the mob mentality. She serves as our heroine’s weaker alter ego. Would be played by Alyssa Milano.
Ceyda (Melissa Sozen), the tag-along slut. Her job is to sleep around a lot and make fun of boys and not have much of a personality beyond that. She’d be played by someone who looks good in dark eyeshadow, like Clea Duvall.
As mentioned, the film starts with prologue detailing the suicide of Gokalp. Then we jump to a year later as the group of five teens who are somewhat responsible for the deaths begins to see strange things occurring. Vain Sebnem sees herself as a hideous monster in the mirror. Control freak Ersin is chased by an uncontrollable poltergeist that opens doors and follows him. Burak is haunted by his cell phone and Ceyda is being wooed by… someone. Someone that we suspect may not be the man of her dreams. Guldem, on her part, sees Gokalp everywhere. He returns to whisper things in her ear, to remind her about her dreams and to be a participant in her nightmares.
All this works rather nicely once you get past the clichéd first half. The second half, while not mind-blowingly original, is refreshing in the way that it doesn’t sink into the mindless bloodbaths of most slasher films. There’s also a hysterical sequence involving Jenna Jameson porn films that’s set up beautifully and gives a bit of comedy relief. The ending is also quite well done and has sweetness to it not found in this genre. I thought it was the most original part of the movie.
The film would earn more stars if it weren’t such an obvious rip off.
Apart from the foreign dialogue and one or two scenes this is exactly like a clone of the “Scream” type movies, albeit a good one. The actors even look like their American star counterparts I listed above.
So it’s simple. If you liked “Scream” and its genre of films and were desperate to see something well done in that style again, this is the movie for you. I liked it quite a bit despite the low rating I gave. The problem is that it’s just too familiar and typical for me to give it much more. Still, there’s worse ways to kill 97 minutes.
BTW: In case you were wondering, “OKUL” means school in Turkish and not Occult. Yeah, I was surprised too.
