Whether it’s “Big,” “Wish Upon,” “Bedazzled,” “Bruce Almighty,” “Freaky Friday,” or “Wishmaster,” how many times must these people hear “be careful what you wish for” before they stop making these damned wishes? And how many times will an audience accept it as a concept for a movie? Well, apparently, at least one more time, as “The Djinn,” a “be-careful-what-you-wish-for” horror movie if there ever was one, is actually well-made enough to make the platitudinous concept feel worth watching even if the concept is tired.
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“The Djinn” follows a 12-year-old young mute boy, Dylan (Ezra Dewey), and his father (Rob Brownstein), as they move into a new apartment after the tragic passing of his mother. Naturally, Dylan finds a mysterious demonic book in the apartment that explains how to wish something into existence. Does he read on to the page describing the cost of such a wish? Of course not. He’s 12. And that’s one of the bits of genius around this film that’s “Big” meets “The Babadook” meets “Home Alone” meets “Wishmaster” – all questionable decisions the lead character makes are completely justifiable because, well, he’s a naïve tween.
And the movie really does rest on the performance of this young boy – luckily, Ezra Dewey can carry the film almost completely alone and with barely any dialogue. His eyes are the film’s secret weapon, conveying all the grief of an emotionally raw child who just lost his mother. You know where the story is going, but your heart breaks a little for this poor kid.
The writer-directors, David Charbonier and Justin Powell (“The Boy Behind the Door“), also prove themselves capable of some extremely tense, downright spooky moments on a shoestring budget. As all good horror directors and cinematographers understand, you have to let the camera do the work for you, and “The Djinn” creates an effective atmosphere in a small apartment with simple, deliberate camerawork. There are certainly moments where you can see the lack of budget, but, as this is an ’80s set horror movie, it almost helps to add to the atmosphere.
And it wouldn’t be a truly effective ’80s throwback movie without a throwback score and soundtrack – this time provided by Matthew James, most well known for his work in “Black Lightning,” “Useless Humans,” and “Arkansas.” While some of the synths sound a bit too modern for the time period, James cobbles together an overall sound that evokes the era of cheap synth-laden soundtracks that try to recreate the John Carpenter lo-fi glory. Again, it’s a bit cheap and imperfect, but so are the films that “The Djinn” is largely paying homage to.
Ultimately, “The Djinn” is unsurprisingly not just a “be careful what you wish for” movie; it’s a movie about moving through grief, even if that’s become something of a cliché these days. It’s not as effective, surprising, or subtle as the previously mentioned horror hit, “The Babadook,” but the execution is so tight and simple that it just works. In an age where cheap mainstream horror movies would rather lean on concept than character (looks back at “Wish Upon”), it’s a flawed but welcome throwback. [B]
“The Djinn” arrives in select theaters and VOD on May 14.
