Review of Djinn (2013) by Chris M — 25 Dec 2014

Tobe Hooper, along with John Carpenter and George Romero are my favorite American pioneer horror genre directors. Hooper has had a spotty career since the mid 80's but I generally find something to like and have been entertained by his misfires.

With controversy and an extreme delayed release with Djinn, I am not sure if the version that I saw was the original Hooper version that screened at a festival or two or the alleged reshot one that was hacked up in an effort to not offend the Arabic community.

While there is nothing groundbreaking, the camera work is good and is reminiscent of other Hooper movies. Ultimately it was cool to see Hooper mix in with the Arabic culture to present a movie that while cliched and predictable, still had a semblance of suspense.

Some of the dialogue was a little off and came out awkward but the actors weren't bad. In fact, most of the female cast were stunningly beautiful. While Tobe Hooper may never reach the highs of Texas Chainsaw 1 and 2, The Funhouse, Poltergeist (which probably has the strongest connection to Djinn), and Lifeforce, Djinn is a step forward into territories such as Toolbox Murders, and his Masters of Horror episodes where he shows that he isn't very interested in retreating similar past cinematic ground that a lot of filmmakers seem to retreat to.