Sella Turcica (film)

Sella Turcica is a 2010 horror film directed by Fred Vogel, who also co-wrote the script with Shelby Vogel and Don Moore. The story centers on Sergeant Bradley Roback, a soldier who, after his squad vanishes during a patrol in the Middle East, is found unconscious with ten other missing men days later. Waking up in a German military hospital, Brad suffers from unexplained physical impairments: he loses the ability to walk, taste, and see in color, and experiences severe headaches triggered by high-pitched noises. Returning home, his condition strains his family, especially with his sister Ashley’s insensitive boyfriend Gavyn. Over time, Brad’s body deteriorates further—he becomes unresponsive, has seizures, develops a worsening foot wound, grows gaunt, and expels black fluid from his ears, mouth, and anus. After being found eating salt in the kitchen, he becomes semi-catatonic. A fight between Bruce and Gavyn escalates, and Brad, having killed and eaten the family dog, attacks Gavyn, killing him. Bruce finds Gavyn dead and Brad convulsing; when Bruce tries to revive him, Brad rips off Bruce’s lower jaw. Brad then kills Ashley by impaling her through a door, and Karmen bludgeons him with a metal ornament, causing a slug-like creature to burst from his sella turcica—confirming his earlier theory of alien abduction and experimentation. Karmen beats both Brad and the creature to death. The film ends with home movies and the discovery that Karmen has hanged herself in the garage. Critical reception was mixed: Moria gave two and a half stars, praising the characters and drama but calling the finale a predictable gore bloodbath with unconvincing effects. The Worldwide Celluloid Massacre called it “pretty good horror” with an interesting story and impactful gore. Arrow in the Head found the dramatic portion overwrought and the gore ending a cheat, though the gore itself was fantastic. Soiled Sinema deemed the film “rotten” and “dead,” criticizing the acting and noting the only worthwhile element was the ending massacre. The film is compared to the 1972 film *Deathdream*.