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The Djinn poster

The Djinn is a 2021 American supernatural horror film directed and written by David Charbonier and Justin Powell. The film stars Ezra Dewey, Rob Brownstein, Tevy Poe and John Erickson. It was released in the United States in select theaters and through video on demand on May 14, 2021, by IFC Midnight. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise directed at Dewey's performance.

Plot[]

On an unspecified night in 1989, Dylan Jacobs, a mute and asthmatic young boy, finds his mother Michelle crying in front of the kitchen sink with a candle lit nearby. She turns around and the candle is blown out.

In the fall of the same year, Dylan and his father Michael move to a new house. In one of the rooms, Dylan finds a dusty mirror and an old book containing instructions for summoning a djinn and having it grant the summoner's wish. The book states that at one hour before midnight, the summoner must place three drops of blood in a lit candle's wax and make their desired wish in front of a mirror; the djinn will grant the wish at midnight if the summoner has the required strength of will, but the wish may cost the summoner their soul. Dylan does not tell Michael about the book.

On the same night, Michael leaves Dylan at home for his job as a host at a radio station. Dylan takes the opportunity to set up the ritual for summoning the djinn, and he uses sign language to wish that he had a voice. Later, the djinn manifests as a cloud of smoke, and after a series of strange events occur, Dylan finds out that the djinn has transformed into a humanoid figure and is searching for him. After knocking the djinn unconscious, Dylan finds that he is unable to escape the house or contact anyone for help.

While hiding from the djinn, Dylan reads through the book again and learns that the djinn is subject to the laws of physics while in the human world, manifests in the form of dead people, and can be banished by blowing out the candle after midnight; he tries and fails to do so due to the time being before midnight. Dylan hears Michelle's voice begging for help, and finds that the djinn has manifested as a demonic version of Michelle. Dylan evades the djinn's attempts to capture him. A flashback reveals that Michelle had shot herself in the opening scene of the film; Dylan was unable to call out to her due to his muteness, and has felt guilty about her death ever since.

At midnight, the djinn confronts Dylan. Dylan prepares to blow out the candle when the djinn begs Dylan not to make it go away in Michelle's voice. Dylan does not fall for it and blows out the candle, successfully banishing the djinn. Dylan later comes to terms with his guilt about Michelle's suicide in a dream.

On the next morning, the djinn manifests again and transfers Michael's ability to speak to Dylan, rendering Michael unable to speak, before returning to the book. Michael, his throat now slashed, begins to have trouble breathing as Dylan pleads for the djinn to come back and undo the effects of his wish.

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