The End (Djinn, 2013)

Tobe Hooper’s final film.  An Emirati couple returns home after the death of their infant son.   But once home in their luxury apartment, the young wife finds herself facing frightening forms.  Meanwhile, one of the women in the building seems to have a special interest in the husband.

Djinn is set against the backdrop of middle eastern mythology of Djinn, magical creatures, between angel and demon.  The film focuses on evil Djinn ad references a story of a Djinn who replaced a human baby with a Djinn infant.  What is the Djinn connection to the couple is the mystery to be solved.

This was a somewhat bold choice for Hooper.  The film is primarily spoken in Arabic with a mostly Arabic cast. Visually, it is pretty well done.  And yet…I just never found myself connecting to the characters enough for the film’s big moments.

I appreciate that they did not go the rout of setting it in the United States and make it about American’s dealing with the Djinn…but it just fails on a script level to make the characters all that engaging. Outside of the ambition, there is not a whole lot to get excited about here.