The Djinn – Creepy Experience
Director: David Charbonier, Justin Powell
Writer: David Charbonier, Justin Powell (Screenplay)
Starring: Ezra Dewey, Rob Brownstein, Tevy Poe, John Erickson, Donald Pitts, Jilbert Daniel
Plot: A mute boy is trapped in his apartment with a sinister monster when he makes a wish to fulfil his heart’s greatest desire.
Tagline – The gift that you seek may cost your soul.
Runtime: 1 Hour 22 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Djinn starts as we meet a mute boy Dylan Jacobs (Dewey) who lives with his father Michael (Brownstein), who looks to summon a Djinn to fulfil his greatest wish. Dylan alone in the apartment summons the monster who starts hunting him down in the apartment, as he looks to break the spell he bought upon himself, while finding a different moment of terror in each room of the apartment.
Thoughts on The Djinn
Characters & Performances – Dylan is the mute young boy living with his father, he has always had questions about his mother, which has seen him look into summoning a Djinn hoping to get answers and time with his mother. Being left without being able to make a noise, Dylan can’t scream for help, instead must use his brains to stay ahead of the evil in his apartment trying to catch him, never letting any of the different creations to the upper hand on him. Ezra Dewey is tremendous in the leading role, taking on nearly the whole film with his grief filled performance, that looks to outsmart the horrors he is experiencing. The supporting cast is Dylan’s father who will always look to care for him, despite needing to leave him alone to work, along with the different creations the Djinn becomes, each one will have a different fear around it.
Story – The story here follows a young mute boy that looks to dive into the myth of a Djinn in hopes of getting a wish, here he will find himself haunted by different creatures as he looks to have his wish granted, but does he know what he has gotten himself into. This is a story that will look to dive into a myth or legend that has come from different religions in the world, wanting to show how men could be led astray by the promises being offered to them, in this case a young boy who wants to change something about his life. The story will follow the home invasion type of storytelling, with the sinister presence lurking in the home, with the boy having the advantage of knowing his way around the home. There will be a clear message sent by this story, which will become key, with nearly every single word spoken (which isn’t many, because the boy is a mute) having a meaning.
Themes – The Djinn is a horror thriller that doesn’t hold back on the scares within the home, it will create plenty of moments that will see the boy needing to think fast to avoid being captured, each different design for the Djinn will have a different approach to the scares too. Keeping the whole film within the single apartment building is an excellent choice, as it will show the fear of showing himself to the world Dylan is going through, as well as giving him the advantage of knowing where he can hide.
Final Thoughts – The Djinn is an excellent little horror that will remain contained for greater scares.
