“A Prayer Written in Blood: Kulyas 2 and the Weight of Inherited Sin”
Kulyas 2: Zikr-i Ayin aims for something ancient. Like a cursed prayer whispered through centuries, Yunus Şevik’s ambitious sequel doesn’t merely frighten, it exhumes, dragging buried histories, inherited sins, and forbidden faiths back into the light. Or perhaps more fittingly, back into the dark.
At its center is Helen, portrayed with gripping intensity by Seda Başayvaz, a woman driven by love into spiritual trespass.
From Istanbul’s shadowed interiors to the stark mysticism of Kars and beyond to American soil, Zikr-i Ayin unfolds like a geographical exorcism. Can faith undo what desire has unleashed? And what price must be paid when salvation itself demands sacrifice?
Şevik’s direction shows remarkable control over tone and atmosphere. The film’s color palette remains disciplined and oppressive, bathing the narrative in hues that feel ritualistic rather than decorative. This visual consistency, paired with a score that hums like a distant warning, keeps the film in a near-constant state of dread. The editing, sharp and deliberate.
The story’s roots stretch back to the 18th-century Ottoman Empire.
Production-wise, the film is an undertaking of rare scale for its genre. Shot across two countries, three states, and 37 locations, this Turkish-American co-production wears its ambition boldly. Costumes, props, and VFX serve the story rather than distract from it, while ritual sequences feel tactile, dangerous, and unsettlingly sincere.
Still, even rituals can linger too long. The pacing occasionally strains under the weight of its mythology, and certain interior scenes suffer from flat lighting that momentarily dulls the visual tension. These moments don’t break the spell, but they do loosen it.
Yet what remains long after the final chant fades is the film’s conviction. Yunus Şevik, whose career began behind the scenes as a director’s assistant before evolving into feature filmmaking, continues to prove himself as a builder of worlds rather than mere scares.
