American horror master Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Poltergeist) has contributed substantially to modern classic scarefests and what we consider to be a the standard American horror canon, so it’s interesting that his latest film, Djinn, was filmed entirely in the United Arab Emirates and uses a menace straight out of Arab folklore and Islamic teachings. The film follows “an Emirati couple (played by Khalid Laith and Razane Jammal) return from a trip to the United States only to discover that their new apartment has been built on a site that is home to some malevolent beings.” Seriously, everybody needs to put some time into investigating just what their homes are built on.
But Djinn might be encountering something even more terrifying than issues of architecture – STYD reported just last week that the film might not see the light of day, as rumors held that “someone close to Abu Dhabi’s royal family has seen the movie and does not appreciate its portrayal of the UAE and considers the movie to be politically subversive, and that they’ve paid off the studio’s chairman, Mohammed Al Mubarak, to bury it…Two other film companies even offered to buy it outright, but the chairman refused to hear their bids.” But after that story was posted, another site got official word from the studio that held that “These rumours are unfounded. Djinn is in active post-production, and Image Nation looks forward to releasing the film in theatres later this year. As for offers, there have been no formal offers were made for Djinn.” Looks like this one might be a wait-and-see.
While we wait, check out the film’s first long-form promotional trailer after the break.
Per Wikipedia (the source of all important information I need at a moment’s notice), “djinn” (or “jinn” as they are more popularly known) are “genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur’an mentions that Jinn are made of smokeless flame or ‘scorching fire’. Like human beings, the Jinn can also be good, evil, or neutrally benevolent.” Evil, ohh, please let them be evil! They look pretty evil here!
And, it is just me, or does that apartment building setting remind anyone else of Poltergeist III? In a good way, of course.
Of course, Djinn does not currently have a U.S. release date, but let’s hope we see it soon rather than later (or never). [MovieSushi, via STYD and FirstShowing]