Jinn

I just got back from seeing "Jinn". To be honest, I hadn't even heard of it before. I saw it in the theater listings, looked up the movie, and saw it was filmed in Michigan, where I'm from, so I gave it a shot.

I really enjoyed this movie. The story was engaging and unique, and the acting was solid all around. It was a bit slow to get moving, but the final third of the movie and the ending were amazing. I loved the look and style of the movie. I LOVED the integration of aspects of the different Abrahamic spiritual traditions while still keeping the emphasis on Arabic/Muslim folklore. It's making me want to read up on some of that folklore myself, since I am unfamiliar with it. "Jinn" is only rated PG-13, but it's not a kids movie; it's just smarter and deeper than your average jump-scare torture porn with naked chicks types of "horror" movies.

As far as negatives go, I think the movie was a little schizophrenic in tone at times. It's not what I would call a pure horror movie, more of a horror plus supernatural action plus an unfortunate touch of "Fast and Furious". The overemphasis on the car was a huge distraction, and the connection between the filmmakers and the car is really strange. I guess they designed it specifically for this film and you can buy one? So you can continue the film experience in your real life? It is a cool looking car, but every time I saw it, it pulled me out of the narrative because I felt like I was watching a car commercial. Thankfully, it was only in a few scenes.

I definitely enjoyed "Jinn" and would recommend it to anyone looking for a more intellectual horror movie from a non-western perspective. Just try to ignore the car.

P.S. There is a brief scene at the end of the credits; I don't mean the scene in the church but later at the very end.

This movie proves that poor old Ray Parks should stick to Darth Maul and give up acting as well as the main actor Dominic Rains and his equally poor acting wife in this they have absolutely no persona or acting talent; a bit like cardboard cutouts really, virtually the whole cast were pretty dreadful but contrary to other reviewers I thought the car design was downright devilish and fitted in quite well but it did come across as a bit of a vanity project.

Having said that the Djinn effects were not bad for a tv style movie and reminded me a bit of Frank in Hellraiser so not bad and there were a couple of good jump scares but alas that does not a movie make unfortunately. This is one of those movies you watch on a wet Sunday afternoon when there is not much else on and you are stuck in the house.

PS. I always thought it was Djinn and not Jinn or perhaps it is Gin! You will certainly need a bottle to get through the fight scenes - why oh why did they have to have Ray doing his Darth Maul dancing routine made me laugh so hard I crapped myself!

Jinns are not very popular creatures in horror movies and there's not whole lot of them if we exclude Wishmaster series.

So when they finally announced Jinn-based movie, i was quite interested to see it, even if trailer looked like a cheap DTV movie.

"Jinn" wasn't anything special, it's not gonna rank with horror classics, but it's highly entertaining movie because it plays more like superhero origin then actual horror movie. It's toned down fantasy mixed with horror, with nice pace, good cinematography and some cool special effects. CGI wasn't that great and it gave movie bit of DTV quality, but luckily it wasn't used often, only in few scenes for a short amount of time, so it shouldn't bother anyone. However, there's a longer CGI scene where Jinn chases down the hero in the streets in sand-like form which looks rather descent and it looks like that's where most of the CGI budget went.

Story itself was here and there, but overall movie keeps you interested and entertained. It's your typical fantasy hero story, of man being the Chosen-One-would- be-slayer-of-evil.

reading all those "critics" here makes me wonder, did they ever think movies can be fun?

While watching this movie, all I could think was "Bro I need some khobza and hummus." After suffering through the first 60 minutes, I was left completely mind boggled by this horrible attempt at a movie. This movie would have been better without a director. All the guy did was make a stupid camaro and parade it around town. He put himself in the movie because he knew it would be the only time anyone would see him on screen. Overall, the acting, writing, directing, and soundtrack were all garbage. Please don't watch this abomination of a motion picture even if they give you a free ticket. Hopefully the jinns don't get me for watching this insulting spectacle.

Jinn is a film which can't decide whether it's a horror flick, a sci-fi/ fantasy romp, or an origin story launch for an independent noir graphic novel hero (please note, I have no idea if Jinn is based off a comic, but they're obviously trying to force-start a franchise.) Like the film's protagonists who attempt to create a super amalgamation of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, only to have it come across as vaguely anti-Muslim and awkward, (and the 'edgy' sound track choices which just end up being bafflingly bizarre,) this mix doesn't quite work, and the film would have been better served choosing one genre, and doing it well, instead of all and fumbling through it. There are some genuinely creepy moments, which are ruined by the comedy, and the comedy is in turn ruined by the complete, posturing cheesiness of some of characters and dialogs. Several plot devices could have come straight from their TVTropes.com pages, and certain scenes feel almost as if they were lifted from famous, better-made, movies.

The production value is very high, which helps and hinders. There are many actors with recognizable faces doing the very best they can; some extremely expensive camera shots; well-done (and plentiful) effects; fighting and driving stunts; and seriously, what is the point of the sports car? The high production values prevent the film from be a crappy delight, but make the confusing plot bearable to watch. Watching Jinn, you'll wonder who in the world would pour so much money into a movie who's plot and screen play feel more like a made-for-TV film you stumble onto after midnight on the Sifi channel than the big budget blockbuster it longs to be.

If you like films like "Season of the Witch," "Outlander," or random, independent movies from Red Box, you'll probably like Jinn, but otherwise, this is a film to watch with a bunch of drunk friends and make fun of, though there are other, better, choices for that.