Djinn

Djinn (2013)

* (out of 4)

Emirati couple Salama (Razane Jammal) and Bobby (Paul Luebke) leave America for her homeland a year after the tragic death of their infant son. Once there they move into a new apartment complex where Salama begins to see visions, which might be connected to the Arab legend Djinn.

This film was tied up in some sort of production hell as it was announced, given a release date, disappeared and it finally showed up on American shores but sadly it's pretty much a disaster. Director Tobe Hooper at least delivers a professional looking film but that's about the only kind thing I've got to say about this film, which runs just 82 minutes but it seems three times as long. There are all sorts of problems here but the biggest is just that it's really not all that well-made and it looks incredibly cheap.

Sadly instead of any atmosphere we're instead given a bunch of jump scares that never work and just come across very cheap. Even worse is the really bad CGI effects, which look horrible and especially that of the Djinn. The only good thing about the casting is that they hired actors from the United Arab Emirates but sadly none of them are all that good and that's especially true for the leads who just don't get across that mental strain that the characters are going through.

The negative stuff keeps going as the look of the film is cheap and Hooper just never builds up any sort of atmosphere. There are elements of REPULSION on display here but Hooper just never makes it work and he certainly never builds any tensions or scares. DJINN is a pretty awful movie from a director who has given us some classics but this certainly isn't one of them.

I happened to come across the 2013 horror movie "Djinn" by random luck. I was instantly drawn to the cover of the movie, which was very interesting and did seem like the movie could prove to be an entertaining one - given the cover design and the title of the movie. So I needed no persuasion to pick up the movie and sit down to watch it.

Storywise then "Djinn" turned out to be adequate. I can't really claim to be familiar with the exact nature of a Djinn in terms of lore and legend, and only do have previous experience from the "Wishmaster" movie franchise. So it was with no expectations or prejudice that I sat down to watch the movie.

The acting in "Djinn" was good, and it was a nice and refreshing touch to have totally new talents to appear on the screen. By that I mean, that this was all actors and actresses that I hadn't seen before. Probably because this was the first Arabic movie that I have ever had the chance to sit down to watch.

The movie jumps back and forth between English and Arabic, which is a bit frustrating, to say the least. So ensure that you have subtitles on while watching "Djinn".

The special effects in "Djinn" were quite good, and there were indeed some very interesting things showcased on the screen. I liked the hand prints effect in the apartment, and also the way that the creature showed on the CCTV camera.

Visually then there were some quite interesting things to witness in this movie. The scene with the stuffed toys on the bed, for example, while it was very simplistic, it was quite effective, especially because they made the eyes of the stuffed animals look somewhat disturbing. The baby with the black eyes was also sort of disturbing. And of course there is the obligatory scene with a long hallway where the lights go out one light bulb at a time, slowly as the dark encroach on the protagonist at the farthest end of the corridor.

Now as for the Djinn itself, well it wasn't all that scary, unless you count a person dressed in black robes, and having wrinkled skin and dirty teeth to be scary. But then again, I don't know what a Djinn is supposed to look like according to its legends and lore, so whom am I to say that this wasn't a good interpretation of its appearance? However, I didn't think that the creature design wasn't particularly scary.

There are some pretty good jump scares throughout the course of this movie, which were incidentally the strongest points of the movie. So if you enjoy a horror movie that thrives more on jump scares than a thoroughly scary storyline, then this is definitely the movie for you.

I didn't know that Tobe Hooper was the director at the helm of "Djinn". I found that out by reading one of the reviews here on IMDb. It was interesting to see him branch out and do something non-American for a change. So how did he fare with this endeavor? Well, I actually think that he did a rather good job.

"Djinn" is a fair horror story, but it wasn't an outstanding movie in comparison to so many other horror movies. Sure, it was good enough for a single viewing, but it is hardly the type of horror movie that warrants multiple viewings.

The ending of the movie was as bland, generic, predictable and stereotypical as it gets for a horror movie. And everything that Tobe Hooper had built up during the movie just fell apart in an instant because of the ending. It was just an atrocious way to end an otherwise adequate horror movie.

Saw this movie few years back on a DVD. The movie is one time watch for horror fans. Apart from decent direction by Hooper, the film is atmospheric n creepy. I am surprised at the films bad vfx considering that the production company behind this film is Image Nation, a leading production company from UAE. Honestly, the effects were really bad. It ruined the film. The movie is about a middle eastern couple residing in New York. After the death of their new born kid, they r advised by their mysterious psychiatrist to relocate to their native place, Abu Dhabi. The couple move into an apartment in a building which was built on a haunted ruins. The road towards the bldg is empty n the constant fog surrounding the building n the road is kinda creepy. Silent Hill style. Now the building is nearly empty. The door man n the neighbors are creepy. The wife keeps hearing strange voices. Ther is appearance of ghostly shadows lurking around the corridors. Grudge style. The couple meet a bizarre, black-clad, hot neighbor. All this leads to a decent twist in the end.

I have been keenly awaiting the release of this film for a while now mainly as the film has been shot & takes place in U.A.E (where I reside) & is based around the legends of Jazeerat Al Hamra in Ras Al Khaimah! To add to the excitement, Tobe Hooper, the man behind Poltergeist & Texas Chain Saw series is directing this film. Unfortunately Djinn kinda disappointed me; the predictable plot, excessive use of not very good CGI & cliché jump scares was kind of fail. Tobe Hooper manages to create an intense environment & tries to build up the predictable suspense while throwing in some random sequences but ends up rushing into climax without any acknowledgement of what was actually happening! The actors did a fine job in certain sequences. Nevertheless given the budget & a fresh attempt on an almost unused supernatural anomaly, Djinn is not a terrible film, but could have been better though!

The movie has a nice folklore traditional Emirati story , and depends on some of the beliefs of Islam regarding the realm of Jin (There is no D in Jin) . It is directed by Tobe Hooper which I believe is the only reason that you might consider watching this. The most horrible thing about this movie is the cast , some are horribly unwatchable and there is no chemistry whatsoever between them. The dialects and accents are just too silly to mix together in members of the same family. The transition from speaking Arabic to speaking English is just uneasy to hear. The movies starts okay then the plot just plateaus for a veryyyyy long time until you are hit with the stupid ending. Bottom line is, if you don't speak Arabic I do not recommend watching this , and if you do speak Arabic I also do not recommend you to watch it.