Biyograficim
Purgatory (Araf)

Purgatory (Araf) (translated)

Movie · 2006 · 11 people

Biray Dalkıran directed Araf (known in English as The Abortion), a Turkish horror film released on October 6, 2006. It runs 97 minutes and arrived while horror production in Turkish cinema was on the rise, turning a story drawn from the reality of abortion into a horror tale. In Turkish cinemas it drew 126,676 viewers. Its tagline reads, "Your past has come to take revenge on you".

At its center is Eda (Akasya Asıltürkmen), a university student who becomes pregnant through a forbidden affair while attending dance school. She sees no option but an abortion; her body recovers, but her spirit suffers for years. Time passes, she builds a new life, and then the nightmares start. When they turn real, she understands that the little daughter she aborted years ago has come back from Araf, the place between heaven and hell, to take revenge. Beside Eda the cast includes Deniz Soyarslan as Oya, Kubilay Tunçer as Cihan and Yasin Şerif Tulun as Kaan, and Murat Yıldırım also appears.

Director Dalkıran comes from short films and advertising.

DirectorBiray Dalkıran

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Cast

Akasya Asıltürkmen Akasya Asıltürkmen Actor · 49 years old Eda Murat Yıldırım Murat Yıldırım Actor · 47 years old Cenk Kubilay Tunçer Actor · 57 years old Cihan Yasin Şerif Tulun Deniz Soyarslan Kevork Türker Hayfa Safi Serhan Ernak Aytaç Ağırlar Mehmet Birkiye Tülay Bekret

More from this director

Through different eyes

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

For a thrills-first viewer, Araf's trump card is the idea of a spirit returning for revenge, solid ground for jolts and rising tension. But the story lays down years of guilt first and only then the nightmares, which risks the scares arriving late. An impatient genre fan may find the drama heavy while waiting for the real tension. If you want a horror film that gets going fast, go in knowing that.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

What makes Araf interesting is that it carries abortion, a subject rarely discussed out loud in Turkey, into the horror genre. The film is built on a forbidden affair, a decision taken because no other option seemed open, and years of guilt; it turns the mark social pressure leaves on a person into a vengeful spirit. That choice is debatable: the horror idiom makes the woman's burden of conscience visible, but it also risks reducing her to a figure being punished. Still, among the domestic horror films that multiplied in the 2000s, it is a notable attempt to tie the supernatural to a social wound.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humor and heart.

This is not one for family viewing. Its subject is abortion, guilt and the spirit of a child seeking revenge, far too heavy and frightening for young children. With teenagers, parents should decide first. Grandparents who dislike horror may struggle too. It suits adults who can handle the theme and want to talk it over afterwards.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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