A few friends and I had met up after quite a while and since it was the weekend we decided to have a long night. As usual, that long night involved a horror film. Now, I’m the type of person who HATES getting scared and thus, I hate horror films! Because I’m such a good friend, I decided to let my friends have their choice over horror films. We went to Netflix and found some Turkish horror films.
The one that stood out was ‘Dabbe: The Possession’, in terms of ratings and the trailer.
I was still skeptical, but my friend had already pressed play and my heart was already beating out of my chest. The poster for the film was enough for me to know I was in for a ride.
The film follows Dr. Ebru (a skeptic) and Faruk (an exorcist). Ebru is making a documentary for her class and follows Faruk on his exorcisms.
She challenges Faruk to cure a girl named Kubra who gets possessed on the day of her wedding and leaves her family horrified. When she gets possessed for the first time, she stabs her to-be husband to death in front of all the guests. Faruk is tasked with ridding Kubra of the demon that lives inside of her. I know what you must be thinking; pretty standard horror film plot. But, there is something about this film that makes it stand apart from the rest.
‘Dabbe’ does not rely on jump scares or the usual horror movie tropes to shock or scare you.
The film is shot like a documentary and it is highly driven by its storyline. More than that, the references drawn in the film are all based on how Islam looks at djinns and demons. Faruk is a deeply religious man and often quotes duas to help ward off the evil spirit. Despite the film being Turkish, the stories and the entire djinn experience is pretty similar to the djinn stories that we share on the daily.
The story and the background to the haunting are extremely well written and thought out.
The film does a great job of explaining the story as to why Kubra is possessed and how her own father made this happen to her. The story is fully fleshed out! Everything from how the curse works to who cursed the family has been explained in painstaking detail. Even the acting in the film is extraordinary. Everyone involved in the exorcism is fully in shock and carry an air of grief and horror about them.
The film doesn’t particularly scare you, but it manages to continuously haunt you throughout. The film is relatable, in the sense that you understand the references the characters are making, more so than a conventional Hollywood horror movie.
The ending of the film is what R E A L L Y gets you. After a horrific ending, it is revealed that the entire film is based on TRUE EVENTS.
So, you’re telling me- all that haunting and that horrific exorcism actually happened. DEAR FREAKING LORD! WHY! Both the main characters, Ebru and Faruk, meet terrible ends in the movie. What happens to them is truly heartwrenching and terrifying, and it only becomes worse when you realize that they were actually people that actually endured all that was shown.
The ghost town of Kibledere actually exists, Faruk is still alive but suffers from memory loss, however, Ebru’s whereabouts are still unknown.
If there’s one critique I could give this film, it would be that the beginning is a bit of a drag. The town where Kubra lives is apparently quite the drive and a good portion of the first half of the film is spent on Ebru and Faruk driving their way to Kubra.
People across the world are slowly discovering the movie.
Okayy so me and my friends just discovered this movie while browsing thru netflix and it is fucking scary and disturbing. 10/10 I would give to this movie. I was about to cry the entire time bcs it is so scary and it felt so real 😭😭 bcs it was inspired by true event . pic.twitter.com/ObHbEEIvRh
— yung hoely (@hoelymelayu) May 11, 2019
‘Fucked Up’ is the ONLY way one can describe this.
Fuck Dabbe: The Possession is the most fucked up turkey horror film i've ever seen 😭
— Tirthankara (@mhdamnzhr) May 16, 2019
It has received some pretty rave reviews.
dabbe the possession is one of the, if not the best horror movie I've ever seen. Definitely, a first-rate movie! Supernatural movies with a religious theme will always give me nightmares for a week 🤣🤣!!! https://t.co/48YqTkmilT
— Hisyam (@vhsym_) May 11, 2019
Also, if you want to see a realistic depiction of how I saw the movie, look no further than this tweet.
Me watching Dabbe: The Possession pic.twitter.com/3QUZlYH1m5
— Nur Afifah (@NurAfifah) May 11, 2019
If you’re faint at heart (like me), be prepared to be scarred for LIFE.
dabbe: the possession is the most realistic horror movie I’ve ever watched. very disturbing and the sinister elements are most definitely the type to give you nightmares if you’re faint hearted. a solid 10/10
— intan (@intanayob) May 29, 2019
And then you’ll also lose precious precious sleep time.
I JUST WATCHED DABBE: the possession. HOW AM I GONNA SLEEP NOW @AsliBinLaden ? 😏😏
— Cartoon (@SyedaSameeera) June 21, 2019
‘Dabbe: The Possession’ is part of series of horror films, but considering how the rest of the films have been received, ‘The Possession’ is by far the scariest and most liked among all the films. Again, watch the film with caution, you will be spooked like you haven’t been spooked before (possibly).
If you have a Netflix account, you can watch the movie right away, or watch the trailer here:
This New Netflix Comedy Film Will Teach You To Love Yourself No Matter Who You Are
This Shocking New Netflix Show About “Jinns” Is So Horrifying, Jordan Is Trying To Ban It
Cover Photo Courtesy: Hasan Karacadağ