The Huffington Post recently featured an essay discussing the forthcoming horror film Jinn. The interesting thing about the piece is that it comes from the Religious News Service, authored by Omar Sacirbey, and HuffPo describes the film with the title “‘Jinn’ Horror Movie Features Elements of Muslim Folklore, Interfaith Themes.” When these elements come together they are prime fodder for a mention at TheoFantastique.
Sacirbey writes that “the release of ‘Jinn’ is a sign that there are a growing number of Muslims in the American film industry who are ready to introduce audiences to stories from their cultural traditions, even in the form of a horror movie featuring supernatural creatures from Islamic and Arabic folklore.” He continues:
Drawing on Islamic lore, the movie’s narrator opens by saying: “In the beginning, three were created. Man, made of clay. Angels, made of light. And a third … made of fire.” The story goes on to explain that man has come to rule the Earth, having all but forgotten about the jinn, who live invisibly in another dimension.
The plot centers on Shawn Walker (Dominic Rains), a handsome Michigan auto designer, and his beautiful wife, Jasmine (Serinda Swan), who learn that because of a family curse, they are stalked by a powerful and evil jinn. To break the curse, Walker must kill the jinn. He receives help from a priest and a Jewish jinn. The thriller is fast-paced and action-packed.
The interfaith themes aren’t coincidental. “I thought, this is a good opportunity to show that we have more similarities amongst us than differences,” Ahmad said. “The jinn idea is very old, and we can find this through all the different faiths.”
Read the entire essay on this interesting film here.
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