A mute boy becomes trapped in his apartment with a sinister monster after making a wish to fulfill his heart’s greatest desire. A film by David Charbonier and Justin Powell, starring Ezra Dewey, Tevy Poe, and Rob Brownstein.

In the dead of night in 1989, Dylan Jacobs (Ezra Dewey) is awakened by the mournful wail of a woman. He follows the sound to a kitchen, where a woman stands with a flickering candle. As she turns to face him, the candle is extinguished, plunging the room into darkness.

Several months have elapsed since the eerie encounter in the kitchen, Dylan and his father, Michael (Rob Brownstein), move to a new apartment. Dylan, a mute and asthmatic boy, relies on sign language to communicate with his father.

Dylan discovers an old, dusty mirror and an ancient book wrapped in fine cloth. The book, titled the Book of Shadows, contains instructions and dark magic incantations. His attention is drawn to a ritual called WISH OF DESIRE, which promises to grant one’s heart’s deepest desire.

Following the intricate instructions in the Book of Shadows, Dylan lights the candle and places three drops of blood upon its flickering flame. He then gazes into the mirror and makes his wish using sign language. The book promises that if the wish is strong enough, a Djinn will grant it at midnight. But a warning is also inscribed within its pages: every wish exacts a price, and it may be the very soul of the one who makes it.

Dylan wishes for a voice, but nothing happens, so he dismisses the ritual as a hoax. Yet, the atmosphere in the room has perceptibly shifted, charged with an ominous tension. Televisions flicker to life, radios blare static, and toys whir to motion, seemingly possessed by an unseen force. A grotesque shadow emerges from the corner of the room, morphing into a twisted human form, as it lunges at Dylan.

Dylan hides from the Djinn, he flips through the ancient book again and learns that a djinn is a half-human, half-demon, one of the immortal guardians of the shadow realms. It will grant a wish to its summoner, but only if they survive the night without falling prey to its deadly wrath. Otherwise, their soul will be trapped in the shadow realm for all eternity.

Dylan also learns that upon entering the human realm, a djinn must obey the laws of physics and transform into a mortal, subject to human vulnerabilities. The only way to banish the djinn is to extinguish the candle after midnight. Dylan must find a way to survive until then, trapped in his apartment by a supernatural force that prevents him from escaping.

As a lover of mythological and dark magic stories, I am drawn to the filmmakers’ skillful use of a seemingly low budget to create a sinister atmosphere. The minimalist aesthetic, coupled with the 80s horror vibes of the song “Neon Lights” by Timecop1983 and Josh Dally, is highly effective. However, I find the mother’s subplot to be out of place, although I suspect the filmmakers deliberately included it to create a twisted ending.

Ezra Dewey delivers an outstanding performance, carrying the entire film on his shoulders. His portrayal of Dylan is so convincing that audiences care about him and root for his survival for nearly 60 minutes of the 82-minute film.

The DJINN was theatrically released in the United States on 14 May 2021 by IFC Films. The film was also released digitally as Video On Demand on the same day.