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.

This movie has a very interesting premise. It promises a high level of suspense in the 1st part, but loses its breath as it progresses in the development of the plot and when it needs a solid script for the conclusion. The author simply cannot maintain interest and the film drags to its melancholy and disappointing ending.

Worth the stunning beauty of Razane Jammal and her effort in trying to give the job a veneer of commitment.

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.

I saw Djinn, the 1st Horror thriller shot in UAE. and featuring Lebanese , Egyptian and Emiraty and Saudi actors.

Beside the scenes of classic "jumpy" feelin, the acting is very bad. Chemistry between the actors is practically inexistent, the story is revealed in the 1st scene. and there is no build up. I have to say that the Saudi Actress, Aiysha Hart who did a great job! Some effects are good, but borrowed from other movies, such as "scene of birds bumping into windows...or the crawling "Um Al dwais" weak cinematography. Dubai has much better scenes than shown. We need to compare the movie to international standards, especially with the amount of money spent on it. and the full access to all needed materials and actors. and hence why the movie rating is 3, in my opinion.