IR Film Review: THE DJINN [IFC Midnight]
The aspect of wish fulfillment has been the progenitor of fables but also of cautionary tales. Many times it is done in a fantastic setting. In "The Djinn", this aspect is given a darker turn with metaphors that abound. But what the film really creates is a haunted house movie in the middle of urban sprawl. It might have been also an apt metaphor for the isolation of the Los Angeles area even when surrounded by humanity. Ezra Dewey plays Dylan who is a confident kid who is mute. He lives with his dad who works as a late night DJ setting up the structure of the film. Dylan is self sufficient but the apartment they just moved into used to belong to an older gentleman who has died. There is a secret there in the form of a book. As most horror films do Dylan's curiosity gets the best of him. Of course the texture of the film is bathed on the absence of the mother and what happened to her.
Directors Justin Powell and David Charbonier create an interesting feeling in what is essentially a two bedroom apartment and mostly do it without any dialogue. While a slow POV circle of the apartment seems gratuitous at the beginning, it makes total sense as the film goes on giving a sense of structure. The rules of what is happening also begin taking shape though their apparent interpretation can shift back and forth. There is only one truly obvious effects shot and it works well because it transfers that notion in a way that "Midsommar" did so well. While some aspects are repeated and overwrought, Dewey is very capable of making the film work and again, completely without dialogue. In that aspect alone, beyond the concept and its budget constraints, "The Djinn" is undeniably effective. B+
By Tim Wassberg
