What’s your heart’s desire? Would you pay any price to make it happen? One young man is faced with the deliberately intoxicating prospect in IFC Midnight’s “The Djinn.” Balancing personal grief and self-awareness, his decision to literally find a voice where he previously had none proves too much to resist.
This unique horror project hails from filmmakers David Charbonier and Justin Powell. The duo, who previously collaborated on “The Boy Behind the Door” as well as several short films, once again rely on a young lead to carry the story. It’s a conscious choice that both directors knew would propel the plot’s themes. “We made this film as a testament to the spirit of independent filmmaking,” Charbonier and Powell said of the project. “Our story is framed in horror, but we hope that its themes of strength and survival will encourage children and adults alike to love themselves despite their perceived shortcomings.”
The Film’s Official Synopsis:
“The story follows a mute twelve-year-old, Dylan Jacobs, as he discovers a mysterious book of spells inside his new apartment. Grieving the loss of his mother, and feeling isolated from everyone except for his father, Dylan performs a ritual that promises to deliver his heart’s desire: to have a voice. But he soon discovers that every gift has a toll when a sinister djinn arrives to collect his soul. Now trapped in his new home with nowhere to hide, Dylan must find a way to survive until the stroke of midnight or pay the ultimate price.”
Ezra Dewey, Rob Brownstein, Tevy Poe, John Erickson, Donald Pitts, Jilbert Daniel, Omaryus Luckett, Collin Joe, and Isaiah Mansfield star in “The Djinn.” The film opens nationwide in select theaters on May 14. It will also be available through digital and VOD options. Watch the film’s trailer below.