Djinn

The name of director Tobe Hooper will forever remain associated with the horror classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". This is somewhat unjustified and disadvantageous, because he also made many other memorable films in the genre, such as "Eaten Alive", "LifeForce", "The Funhouse", and "The Mangler". On the other hand, it may also be a blessing, because everyone forgot that his last films - and more specifically his very last one, "Djinn" - were incredibly bad.

"Djinn" is unbelievably boring. There may be a few good ideas and potentially controversial elements in the script, but they never come to the surface because Hooper doesn't have the courage to genuinely shock his audience. The story is about a New York couple who return to the United Arab Emirates - where their roots are - after losing their newborn baby. This is especially against the will of the wife, Salama, because she has no job there, and then she is also becomes haunted with the myth of the djinn; a monstrous creature hiding in the body of a baby looking for its "mother".

"Djinn" dethrones "Morturary" as the worst Tobe Hooper movie I've seen so far. As far as I'm concerned, the "The Toolbox Murders" remake from 2004 remains his last glorious piece of work. There's zero action, suspense or horror-worthy special effects/make-up in "Djinn". You don't feel any empathy for the characters, and there is endless talking in English and Arabic.

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.

This film was sitting on my Netflix list for quite a while. The only reason I watched it is that it was directed by Tobe Hooper, who's directed some horror classics like "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Funhouse," "Poltergeist," and "Lifeforce" (okay not everyone thinks 'Lifeforce" is a classic, but I do) but Hooper has also directed some serious duds like "The Mangler," possibly the worst Stephen King film adaptation. My overall opinion of Hooper is that most of his film are only as good as their scripts. His best films were written by heavyweight writers like Steven Spielberg, Lawrence Block, or g Don Jakoby and Dan O'Bannon. "Dijinn" sadly represents another weak script, but it did have some interesting elements. The story is essentially an old fashioned haunted house tale, but with a twist of being set in the United Arab Emirates, which does bring a fair amount of interesting cultural elements to a fairly well worn horror formula. A young couple returns home to Dubai and moves into a fancy new high rise apartment building. When the wife begins seeing and hearing things that may or may not really be there, the already strained relationship between the couple becomes even more strained. The middle eastern setting goes a long way, as does director Hooper's visually arresting style that focuses on atmosphere and suspense over cheap scares. However, besides the setting, the story is so unoriginal and derivative that it nearly sinks what could have been a much stronger film. Borrowing from everything from "Rosemary's Baby" to "The Others," it's almost impossible to keep up with which films this script is stealing from. The ending seemed particularly unoriginal and clichéd. Despite all that, director Hooper salvages the weak script and makes the film watchable. Overall, this is worth checking out for Tope Hooper fans or for horror fans looking for something slightly different from the norm.

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!

Simply put, this movie was directed by a master of horror. And though everyone is entitled to failures, I feel like this one didn't have to be. This could've been a groundbreaking film for Hooper. Sadly it was the opposite. But not by the fault of Hooper. We can't possibly know what his true vision was, because what we got was a very salient example of the damage a room of executives can cause. Hooper and Djinn never stood a chance.