Widely regarded as one of the most controversial films in cinema history, The Last House on the Left was banned in many countries. Yet the film's story ultimately originates in the Swedish medieval ballad Töres döttrar i Wänge. Last House on The Left film poster To listeners who do not understand Swedish, the ballad may sound like nothing more than a beautiful song. That is exactly what happened to me. Ironically, I have lived in Sweden for more than ten years, and I can con

The 1990s were as turbulent as many other periods in Turkey's history. What made this decade somewhat different, however, was its impact on popular culture. It was the era when private television channels were introduced. They needed ratings. They chased sensational stories, and when there weren't any, they created their own. Handmade poster for Mayhem's Izmir concert In Turkey, the 1990s were also a defining decade for youth culture. Heavy metal and death metal found a growi

Captivating poster for the Italian horror film "Dellamorte Dellamore," starring Rupert Everett, adapted from Tiziano Sclavi's novel. The first time I watched Michele Soavi's cult film Dellamorte Dellamore (1994, also known as Cemetery Man), I was at Atilgan, a small shop in Atlas Pasajı. Its owner, Metin Demirhan (1965 – 2007) , had an old computer with a tiny screen where he loved to play scenes from his collection. He sold illegal copies of B-movies and all kinds of rare an

I grew up with Turkish movies. The television was always on. It was the 1980s, a strange and unsettling time in Turkey. After the military coup of 1980, fear and isolation spread throughout society. Political discussions disappeared from daily life, and people retreated into their homes. Turkish films, with their familiar stories and moral certainties, became a kind of opium for stressed minds. My mother did not work outside the home. At that time, women were expected to stay

“We don’t have time for jokes here. Do you want to ride the horses by yourself?” That was the carriage driver’s response to a customer who had already spent more than an hour waiting under the blazing sun. A few minutes earlier, the same driver had snapped at me too. It started when I learned that a half-hour carriage ride cost 70 euros. To save money, I quickly arranged to share the ride with an elderly couple standing behind us in line. “We can ride together and split the