Dabbe: The Possession (2013) Poster

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8/10
Successful experience with different metaphors.
omeryildiiz7 September 2013
I've been watching Mr. Hasan Karacadag's horror movies since the "d@bbe" movie has been made in 2005. Due to its story, the movie was seemed to be the pioneer of a very different sort of horror in Turkey. The most effective fact in that is the influences of Karacadag movies in usual. The classic and usual horror movie sense in the world was like what Hollywood used so far. But with his own created view and his own assertions about doomsday, Karacadag has made an influential change about horror movie clichés.

That's what Hasan Karacadag's whole movies' main themes are about. He urges so odd arguments about Islamic metaphysical stuffs and his genuine theories about the omens of doomsday in Islam religion become very controversial claims every time he makes a new movie. His theory about the "dabbe" notion which's mostly used in his movies triggered so many discussions related to Islamic metaphysical assets mentioned in Quran. Due to the meaning of "dabbe" word he correlates the "dabbe" with the internet we always use in our lives (dabbe means something is spread around the world) because the world wide web and the dabbe both have the same function. This argument of the director has been used in almost every movies of him.

Like previous movies, the movie "Dabbe: Cin Çarpması" is also telling about Karacadag's metaphysical inquiry results. You'll be hearing of some things related to doomsday, jinns, devil etc. which you've never heard before. Like other movies of the director, this movie also will add a very different point of view to your mind about your metaphysical senses you used to have beside its thrilling side.
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8/10
THIS IS REAL HORROR.
andrewchristianjr13 June 2021
Oh man! 120 minutes of most terrifying movie experience. Definitely the scariest Turkish horror I've ever seen in ages, and I'm hard to please when it comes to scary films, it's clever, chilling, and very jumpy indeed. Go and watch it, just sleep with the lights on. THIS IS REAL HORROR.
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8/10
It is "absolutely a goal" this time ;)
haincabbar3 September 2013
I did watch all the dabbe movies but this one got me, finally... The first movies were "terrible" for a horror-thriller fan like me but this final one is totally different. Its like the director got out of his cocoon and finalized his evolution as a beautiful and colorful butterfly, only hope is that it won't last for some short time but we will see better and better jobs of Mr. Hasan. He shall be proud of himself and his crew (they totally deserve the applause). I am sure he slowly started to have his own fan-club. Regarding to the movie; I don't want to write any spoiler. If u like gin/goblin stuff with some black magic and metaphysic melted in the same pod with some paranormal activity/blair witch similarities including a shocking ending, you have to give a chance and watch this one. I watched it 3 hours ago and I still feel the hitting effect of the movie inside me. 4 girls sitting in front line of me did leave the theater seeming so scared (2 were crying with flooding tears out of their eyes) in the first 60 minutes. Then they had some followers saying "this movie is bad for our psychology, i won't be able to sleep alone for a long time etc etc..." So, if someone says "this movie is a crap, director has no idea what a horror movie is, bla bla bla" (cause I read such reviews in some TR sites) I have two words for them...
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Dabbe
0U22 February 2020
Terrifying, Breathtaking. Couldn't sleep after watching it. Nowhere any American or European movies comes close to this one. A must watch for horror movie fans.
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6/10
Disappointing
vmanson-490178 October 2019
What could have been a good movie..Its a very loud movie with jump scares and violent camera shakes that only makes the viewer dizzy and annoyed afterwards. Decent story line but really the scares is not on par yet with many other horror movies.. Entertaining tough.
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6/10
Honestly Very Scary and Unsettling, But Needs A Lot of Editing.
ryanpersaud-5941525 September 2023
As someone who primarily watches American films, I'm used to seeing possession and exorcism films from a mostly Christian perspective. It's always exciting to see a different culture's take on it and Dabbe: The Possession is a perfect movie for that.

This film isn't a "Turkish version of an American horror film." Oh, no, no. This film is a deep dive into Turko-Islamic mysticism; goes very deeply into the concept of djinn, Islamic eschatology, Islamic views on witchcraft, and the afterlife. So much so that for viewers unfamiliar with some of these concepts, it might be worthing reading up on some it after. Personally, I love dense, culturally specific foreign films, not ones intended for outsiders. It's like travelling from your living room, you know?

This film has a commitment to realism that I really admire; a lot of it is presented in such a raw way, it almost reminded me of the Blair Witch Project. Suffice to say, it's quite a scary film, even for someone who's seen literally hundreds of horror movies at this point. The film is unpredictable, ratchets up the tension, goes places, and shows you things that'll make you want to take a shower in holy water. It's all wrapped around a surprisingly compelling mystery (if I felt could be presented better).

However, this movie has some big issues. Firstly, the incessant shakey cam was unintentionally hilarious given that we SEE actors holding the camera during the movie. There's no explanation given as to why the camera is shaking, so I could only assume the person holding it is. The idea that someone was told to "shake the camera really hard to make it look spooky" is hilarious and every time this happened, it took me out of the movie. Some of the effects also look objectively bad; there's this whole thing with snakes near the end which I also found really funny (look, Burmese and ball pythons do not live in Turkey. It just looks stupid).

Secondly, the movie is way too long. There's a lot of repetitiveness and it gets quite slow at times; I feel like there were at least three false endings and it got to a point of being very comical. The movie spends too much time meandering and not enough time on the central mystery, so it's all presented right at the end and it's hard to follow. I'm not Turkish, so maybe there's some cultural context there I'm missing, but there were several narrative threads that didn't really mesh for me.

I also found the protagonist - Dr. Ebru - to be extremely annoying by the end. Her insistence on a "rational explanation" actively undermines the movie because...aren't we all seeing the lights flicker and the room shake? Or is it literally her shaking the camera for effect? She denies to a point where you have to roll your eyes and it gets tiring.

So, this is a flawed movie, and I would recommend it, but it is in desperate need of an editor. There are apparently a whole bunch of these movies, so maybe a tighter film does exist in this series?
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10/10
Psychological and disturbing horror!
chebkhaled3 August 2013
Dabbe 4 is a disturbing, unsettling and chilling movie. It is a class film and if you liked The Blair Witch Project and paranormal activity you will love this. Acting was perfect and The characters themselves are believable. There is a interesting and good build up.. of the story and the tension ! The story is about all secrets behind the jinn exorcism and jinn possession Its not important that You believe or not to the Jinn,you will scare. The storyline is unique and makes you think,about the jinns.The jinns are most terrifying unknown beings int he World.Strange and slow storyline mixed with The mystery and unknown elements of old Anatolian chilling tales. Actually It's not your typical American horror with good looking teens etc! Definitely the best Turkish horror I've seen in ages, and I'm hard to please when it comes to scary films, it's clever, very chilling and very jumpy indeed, go ahead and watch it, just sleep with the lights on!

Dabbe Cin Carpmasi (Dabbe;The Curse of the JINN) I recommend to any horror fans.
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6/10
-_-
jack_o_hasanov_imdb14 August 2021
It was interesting at first, but then i got tired of it, always the same subject, always the same concept.
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9/10
One of the best!
mejahanasif5 December 2014
Frankly speaking it's my first ever Turkish movie and oh man!!! what a movie. superb plot,incredible acting and the places looks horrific. Last year's the conjuring was the best horror movie for me till date. But this movie is definitely will be on my top 5 best horror movies ever. Based on a Muslim country and all the elements are based on Islam. As a Muslim i liked it most. Many of the things seemed pretty much like original. And that's what i seek from a horror movie. The camera work is like the paranormal activity series. Thus the movie got better then the static cam work. unlike paranormal activity series it's not boring. Gonna give viewers shocks time to time. A must watch for the horror lovers.
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7/10
The scariest ever
issaahahmad23 September 2019
What a terrifying,spine chilling movie, in my lifetime I have seen so many horror movies but dabbe 4 is by far the scariest one, I will never forget those moments of true genuine terror. Don't watch it alone 👍
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1/10
Positive Comments were definitely scam
dshie2 July 2022
Should have taken a past upon reading those Bad Reviews.

Already fast forwarding on the first 45 minutes, still cannot stand the TV quality and endless confrontation with no meaning.

That gives me a thought, where were those perfect score & comments came from.
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9/10
Hasan Karacadag continues his tradition of scary found footage
victoryismineblast17 January 2014
Written and directed by Hasan Karacadag, the film is about a doctor and an exorcist who are called out to the home of a seemingly possessed woman who had killed her husband on their wedding day a couple of years earlier, and who has been possessed since.

The doctor believes that the woman has a personality disorder and of course the spiritualist believes she is possessed. This almost plays out like a Scully/Mulder X-Files scenario and is fun to watch.

The film is a little long at 2 hours 14 minutes but it gets really intense near the middle and end and is a lot of fun. Karacadag has upped the scare factor from his 2012 entry, "Dabbe: Bir cin vakasi", also about vengeful genies. He knows how to use the camcorder and lighting to maximum effect and when watching his movies you just know that when it gets dark, something scary is going to happen.

All in all a must-watch for horror and found footage fans, as well as anyone who was disappointed by "Paranormal Activity" and its sequels.
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7/10
Unsettling from the start.
shiversad14 May 2020
This movie set the atmosphere since the beginning,there were no jump scares when you think there would be be,but no. Atmosphere kept on building and then they drop the nail. Amazing horror and since i found all Middle East horror movies scary,this was scary from the get go.
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1/10
Waste of time. Shaky cam with people screaming in turkish.
Fatcontortionist9 July 2020
A horrible piece of..something, but definietely not cinematography. Camera is shaking non-stop sometimes accompanied with strobe-light effects which last 2-5 minutes straight making you pure nauseous and irritated. Extremely loud unnecessary screams at all times. Weak plot. Bad acting.

I hated this movie so much that I actually got back here to leave this warning for yall, because this movie is barely 1/10, definitely not anywhere near 6.8 which I saw. And I never leave movie reviews.
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6/10
Found Turkish footage
kosmasp13 November 2021
So the theme remains consistent with the previous entry of the Dabbe franchise I watched. Paranormal Activity made to Turkey - in a big way. The cruel and quite annoying sound effects that are here to scare you remain. The special effects are decent and this has quite the solid backstory it tells.

You have to really be into the whole found footage thing ... even if it doesn't make any sense (like the end - and I mean before the movie tells you this is "based on a true story" - yeah right) ... not a big fan of these kinds of movies myself, but have to admit overall well done. The ending may destroy this impression for you though ...
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10/10
Deeply disturbing and Spine-chilling Horror! Beware!
yarilo-slavic4 June 2014
Packing 4 times the punch, this movie is a revelation in the Genre.

120 minutes of most terrifying movie experience. Having seen 3 Dabbe movies, I thought I could manage watching this latest addition but I was wrong.

The world has taken note of Hasan's work and he is all set to make his mark in Hollywood. I love his style of film-making. He has proved in each of his movies that an excellent movie can be made out of a small budget, hand-held camera work could be as good as the others, good actors, script and direction are enough to make a good movie, and that there is so much to be explored in the Genre.

I wonder how he is able to sleep at nights. After watching Dabbe 4, I couldn't sleep for two weeks, whatever little sleep I could muster was filled with the most horrific nightmares(I am not sure if all of them are nightmares). I had to throw the "Evil Eye" charm (one of em was hung in the living room by my Aunt and she had received it as a gift from a friend who happens to live in Istanbul::how creepy is that!). I was scared to look in the mirror, scared of shadows and the darkness. I had to be counseled by a friend so that I could snap out of my fright and be normal.

Dabbe 3 and 4 are based on actual events. And the sounds of the Jinns we hear in the movie were retrieved from the original case files of the events. 7 out of 8 movies that he made are in the Horror Genre. I wonder whether he could sleep at all. And the kind of information he has about the world of the Devil and the Jinns is shockingly precise and intricate.

Dabbe 3 and 4 are the best Horror movies I've ever seen. I guess, only Hasan could best this record and I hope he makes more of them.
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7/10
Thrilling adventure
umunir-369591 March 2021
Excellent movie. Realistic and disturbing than many Hollywood horror movies. And it's not just horror, it's suspenseful at the same time. Turkish horror is very underrated just because of language barrier. But watch it with subtitles, I'm sure you'll love it if you're into stuff like Paranormal activity and Blair Witch Project.
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10/10
It's real horror.
misiribrahim1010 August 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Hi guys, I watched this movie last week. And I didn't watch movie like that ever. The real experience of horror. If you like horror films, I think you like that too. Acting, Designing, Scenario is perfect. Hurry to watch it. And I think its better than Paranormal Activity series. This film's interesting as well about jinn and paranormal things. jinns are real in life. And this is how to be scary.The storyline is unique and makes you think,about the jinns.The jinns are most terrifying unknown beings int he World.Strange and slow storyline mixed with The mystery and unknown elements of old Anatolian chilling tales. Actually It's not your typical American horror with good looking teens etc! Definitely the best Turkish horror I've seen in ages, and I'm hard to please when it comes to scary films, it's clever, very chilling and very jumpy indeed, go ahead and watch it, just sleep with the lights on!
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7/10
Totally changed my mind
8bithummingbird18 July 2022
I always looked with a hint of prejudice at the Turkish horror genre as they are cheap and boring with the old tricks but this one changed my mind. It actually has a based plot and the acting is over the mediocre. Seems like a background check is done about the topics portrayed in the movie.

If you wanna send a chill down your spine in a dark summer night with the extraterrestrial beings in a remote village with the possessed people, here's your pick!
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1/10
Very Very Very Scary - Do not watch if you get easily scared
faizzsheikh2 August 2018
I was living happily with my wife until we watched Dabbe series. We didnt realized it will leave such impact on our lives. After watching the movie series for a week, my wife has started to get so scared that later on, after a week or so she is trembling, shivering and her behavior has also changed. She says its not because of the movie but I know it very well. I am trying to console and encourage her so that things get on track for both of us. What makes anyone to do such despairing and disgusting piece of work.

I have watched many horror movies and will still watch but my only advice is that if you are going to such extreme than please end such movie plots with some positive and optimistic ending.

This is my first review on IMDB, I was not even registered but for this movie I did.
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10/10
If conjuring is 5 star dabbe is 10 star...plz dnt watch it alone...
salman_sweetboy200022 November 2014
Warning: Spoilers
For all horror genre lovers,this Turkish movie is an epic..please Hollywood viewers,watch this movie if u want to see beyond THE EXORCISM INSIDIOUS and CONJURING...where these movie ends dabbe begins...I cant explain my feelings in words...don't think just go and watch this...This bone chilling epic is a master class of Turkish director Hasan karacadag who make me feel that good directors are not only from holly wood..though the language is Turkish but if u watch this along with subtitle it is perfectly okay..its scary its horrifying its heart trembling experience,This is really different experience when you come to know that this MOVIE IS BASED ON TRUE EVENTS
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6/10
No end as based on real event
frozen_pulze19 August 2020
Movie was a good horror the only disturbing thing was it has no end. As it is based on real event so the people are just gone in words. I expected a better end. The storyline and horror is worth watching.
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2/10
Waste of time
ymfms22 July 2021
Absolutely a loss of time, don't even think about watching it.
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6/10
atheist doctor woman and the religious exorcist hodja
destanduran-819096 December 2023
I think the atheist doctor woman and the exorcist hodja made an incredible team and i couln't help but notice the sexual tension between the two despite their opposite cultural and religious beliefs. I would've loved to see an intense seen between these two characters. I know this is a horror movie but remarks of elements from other genres could've added colour and diversity to the film.

Overall, the film presents us the essense of islamic mythology and turkish cultural beliefs about supernatural phenomenons.

I especially appreciate this f,lm because it was made in a "found footage" style which is very rare in turkish cinema and is my favourite style of horror.
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7/10
Good story
ferhatbey-1323116 November 2020
Very good storyline, interesting. However, I feel that there is a lack of finance due to the special effects which seem basic. Instead of shaking the cameras they could have spend some money on showing the monsters, like in American films etc. That would make it really scary, because the storyline is excellent.
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