Mute boy, Dylan (Ezra Dewey) finds a book of spells in the closet when he is left home alone in their new apartment by his father (Rob Brownstein) to work the night shift. Blaming himself for the recent death of his mother, Dylan summons a djinn to grant one wish. Now he must survive a night of sheer terror at the hands of the sinister creature to fulfill his heart’s greatest desire.
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[youtube https://youtu.be/N-_eqyHXupw?t=1328]
Video Quality
The film debuts on Blu-Ray with a 1080p presentation in its original aspect ratio that captures the film really well. For a movie that relies on darkness to build tension at various points, it is important to have deep black levels, which this thankfully does. Objects hold up pretty well in the shadows and retain their depth. There is no damage or digital noise detectable in this transfer. The movie itself has a natural color palette that does not consistently pop off the screen due to the prevalence of drab apartment colors and nothing but dim lamp lighting, but there is a great amount of detail and clarity even in the darkest scenes. The brief moments of blood that pop up provide some impressive moments that bring with them a nice vibrancy. There is slight loss of detail in fast panning shots, but it is not pervasive throughout. There are not very many moments that are going to jump off the screen, but this is a solid video presentation overall.
Audio Quality
The Djinn comes to Blu-Ray with a satisfying DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track. The few lines of dialogue that are spoken are appropriately balanced with the sound effects and music where nothing gets lost in the track. Surround channels get some nice activity during the tense scenes where Dylan is being pursued in the house and during any lead up to an unsettling reveal. The movie does not provide the most intense workout, but the environmental sounds provide a very immersive atmosphere for the story which helps make up for the lack of dialogue. The low end of the track is especially active during moments of violence and frights with a bit of wall shaking happening. This track is quite precise and effective, and will be appreciated by horror fans who pick up this disc. There are English SDH and Spanish subtitles provided.
Special Features
There are no special features provided on this disc.
Final Thoughts
The Djinn is a film with a terrific premise that does not sustain itself throughout the relatively brief runtime. In the beginning, you are introduced to a scenario that will have have you on edge as you await the horrific situation to come. Yet, when the action kicks into gear, the tension dissipates a bit too much and you get into a repetitive narrative that maintains rather than escalates. The film is mostly entertaining, but it feels like a better fit for a short film rather than a feature. The filmmakers make the most out of their effort on a technical level, but the script could have used a bit more fine tuning. RLJE Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation and no special features.
The Djinn is currently available to purchase on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: RLJE Films has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
