During wartime in the Balkans, a husband and his pregnant wife plan to escape a lawless gang. One night, the gang knocks at their door and offers the wife a chance to see her husband again if she keeps one promise.
Turkish film Bomba (The Bomb, in English), adapted from writer Ömer Seyfettin’s 1910s story, is one of treachery and hope and grief and the horrors of war. Director Onur Doğan used this as a way to put more eyes on forgotten stories of his culture that have been lost or censored. He took inspiration from the story, transforming dialog and adding modern touches and a short-film style that creates a unique feel that resonates with the audience. Bomba is a home invasion film that feels like elevated horror, looks like a period piece, and cuts your heart to pieces like a wartime documentary.
In Bomba, we’re kept to one setting: a wooden cottage at the foot of the mountains. It is an intimate setting that lets us become familiar with the people living there. Unfortunately for us, we are subject to the same horrors the couple is — except as unwilling voyeurs. My two main focuses were Magda (Ece Bozkaya) and Raçof (Ozan Ayhan) as the former fights for her and her unborn child’s life and the latter relishes the moment while still being wholly indifferent. I can almost not put into words how anxious I felt; what we see go down is not majorly bloody, but it is indeed brutal. Doğan and crew somehow were able to show the effects war has on people while retaining a cinematic beauty. This warm and loving home has turned into a house of horrors.
And of course, the “bomb” in question is shown at the end. Bomba is a master class on giving hope before snatching it away in a cruel twist of fate. For most of the 25-minute runtime, I had this icky, sick feeling that something may be amiss, and I was correct. But the thing is, Bomba still had me hoping, wishing for another outcome up until the very end. It takes not only a lot of technical prowess, but a fantastic handle on storytelling to do that for an audience.
Bomba, though striking and engaging, was a sobering reminder of people and their very real stories escaping atrocities. Being put into a short horror format was an incredibly smart and kind way to showcase these tales and make them palatable to viewers. Bomba is one I will not be forgetting.
Learn more about Bomba on Instagram, and give director Onur Doğan a follow as well. Many thanks to the KORK International Horror Film Festival for directing me to more Turkish horror!
