A mate of mine often passes me films that fit in a certain theme, and his favorite theme is the so-called "send in the military cannon fodder" flicks. These are horror/Sci-Fi movies dealing with initially arrogant and macho military men (sometimes also women but not here) being sent into a top-secret and geographically remote government research facility or underground lab to eliminate some sort of experiment that went horribly wrong. As a matter of course, these people haven't got a clue what they will be battling against and, regardless of their intense training and superior skills, they get mercilessly ripped to pieces by something (usually an alien or a genetic experiment) much stronger and slimier than them. All these films are basically "Aliens" wannabes, but quite fun nonetheless!
"Djinns" also fits into this category, although there are a few minor but crucial differences. Instead of in a fictional research facility or lab, the action takes place in an actual historical setting namely the French-Algerian War in 1960, which was largely fought in the Sahara Desert and eventually led to the independence of Algeria in 1962. The military squad is not sent on a mission to destroy a failed experiment, but to recover a mysterious suitcase after the crash of a plane in the desert. They are, however, soon confronted with a powerful type of evil that kills them one by one.
Apart from facing heavily armed Muslim guerilla fighters and enormous sandstorms, the 10-headed French army platoon are also pursued by "Djinns"; - invisible desert creatures that take possession of your body and soul. Only a few people can see these "Djinns", among which the geeky soldier Michel, and that makes him the "Chosen One" according to a witch in a local village they invade. The film has a couple of intriguing moments, like the accurate finale, but most of the running time is dull, derivative, and unexciting. You cannot sympathize with any of the characters, since they're all selfish soldiers, so it doesn't really matter if they die or in what order. The creatures are invisible, which doesn't work in horror movies, and even if we catch a glimpse of them via the perception of soldier Michel, they are not exactly spectacular.
