The Djinn (2021)

By: Mike Ward on Friday, May 14

R Running Time: 82 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

Small-scale horror film The Djinn tells a powerful story of a young boy, mute, trying to cast a spell to restore his ability to speak. Let’s just say: Be careful what you wish for.
Writer/director team David Charbonier and Justin Powell make a formidable combination. The Djinn balances suspense, tension, and mood exceptionally well.
You wish they could have done more with the premise, but The Djinn is a carnival funhouse of scares and surprising emotions.

NO

Movies dealing with black magic, and/or the summoning of spells, are not your thing.
Even at just 80 or so minutes, some have shared frustration in feeling The Djinn struggles to fill barely half of that time. The single-setting, repetitive nature of the film might prove tedious or boring to some users.
All metaphors and symbolism aside, the proverbial “Djinn” is potentially going to prove underwhelming for some viewers expecting more.

OUR REVIEW

Economically made, and hinting at potentially greater things to come, writer/director tandem David Charbonier and Justin Powell’s new film, The Djinn, is a nifty little horror flick set within a single setting. Bound to the timeless themes of “be careful what you wish for,” the film delivers moments of terrifying intensity, even if viewers are potentially left wishing more could have been done with this familiar, but clever concept.

Set in a sparsely furnished apartment, Ezra Dewey plays Dylan, a mute 12-year-old boy who, along with his father Michael (Rob Brownstein), has just moved in after suffering a family tragedy. Michael works overnights as a radio disc jockey. As we join the story, this will be the first night he will need to leave Dylan home alone.

They share a great bond and Dylan assures his father he will be fine. Set in the late-80’s (no reasons are given), the filmmakers toy with setting an atmosphere as 1980s-style new wave pop barrels out of a boom box. An additional 1980s-influenced score by composer Matthew James adds a little kitsch to the earlier scenes when Dylan is figuring out what to do by himself.

The whimsy falls away when Dylan finds a book, left behind presumably by the previous owner. Dylan opens “The Book of Shadows,” and his eyes grow wide as he begins to see the spells and incantations within the book.

While Dylan may have glossed over the reference to paying a toll to the djinn, we most certainly did not. And the stage is set: Charbonier and Powell maximize every inch of their setting, turning a claustrophobic apartment into a battleground just large enough to find room to escape, or, in other moments, too small to allow someone to remain undetected. For a fair amount of time, we are simply putty in the filmmakers’ hands as they take us through their carnival funhouse of unsettling terror.

Much of the time psychological horror builds its stories using symbolism to express larger themes. The Djinn has a lot on its mind. Charbonier and Powell analyze loss, loneliness, the feeling of being trapped within the parameters of one’s own self. Overcoming fears and previous pain is likewise a factor here. The film is insightful without pandering to its audience.

The film is carried by Dewey, who illuminates on screen and delivers an outstanding performance. His expressions, reactions, and ability to convey emotion without the use of dialogue is wise beyond his years. Julián Estrada’s camera seems to always find the right angle, be in the right place at the right time, and follow Dewey around appropriately to enhance a foreboding sense of dread the film needs to keep us on the edge of our seats. Also, the film continues tremendous sound design work, playing with character perspectives and heightening the stakes at play.

The film is held back, sadly, by itself. Limited resources play a factor. While the film looks every bit ready for its closeup, there is more story to explore here. Corners get cut a bit in the script and the film has some tempo shifts which do not always work. Understanding just what Dylan has unleashed takes a little bit of time once we determine the physicality and supernatural elements at play within the apartment.

That said, I had a lot of fun with The Djinn. The film whets the appetite for more from the tandem of David Charbonier and Justin Powell, and certainly in what Ezra Dewey does next. Should the film find an audience, this could be one of those films people look back with great appreciation.

Small, but mighty. Efficient, but effective. The Djinn works its black magic in thrilling and captivating ways.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Ezra Dewey, Rob Brownstein, Tevy Poe, John Erickson, Donald Pitts.

Director: David Charbonier, Justin Powell
Written by: David Charbonier, Justin Powell
Release Date: May 14, 2021
IFC Midnight

Small-scale horror film The Djinn tells a powerful story of a young boy, mute, trying to cast a spell to restore his ability to speak. Let’s just say: Be careful what you wish for.

Writer/director team David Charbonier and Justin Powell make a formidable combination. The Djinn balances suspense, tension, and mood exceptionally well.

You wish they could have done more with the premise, but The Djinn is a carnival funhouse of scares and surprising emotions.

Movies dealing with black magic, and/or the summoning of spells, are not your thing.

Even at just 80 or so minutes, some have shared frustration in feeling The Djinn struggles to fill barely half of that time. The single-setting, repetitive nature of the film might prove tedious or boring to some users.

All metaphors and symbolism aside, the proverbial “Djinn” is potentially going to prove underwhelming for some viewers expecting more.