In my opinion, with what the producers and actors had to work with in making this film, they created as much as anyone could have. The budget was so small they had to work without filming permits, in someone's apartment where the lease was nearly up. Virtually the entire movie is filmed within the apartment, and they had to do it quietly so neighbors would not complain and rug-pull the whole production. Loud sound effects were added very neatly after-the-fact.
Here's the basic story: Ezra Dewey plays Dylan, a mute boy of about twelve years old. (In one scene where he is preparing to take a shower, when he has his shirt off we see scars from his throat and down his chest, so apparently some sort of injury or surgery was involved in his lost voice.) Dylan and his dad live in this apartment together, his mom having died sometime previously. Dylan finds a book of what looks like Satanic spells, and one of them tells how to cast a spell to a demon (The Djinn) who will grant him one wish. Unfortunately, Dylan will find that it's not as easy as that.
He waits for his dad to go to work (the night shift at a radio station) and then performs the steps to cast the spell; the wish he makes by mouthing the prescribed words and using sign language is to have his voice and be able to speak.
At first nothing seems to happen. But before long, that situation changes - and Dylan is in for a horrifying night as The Djinn, an evil spirit, takes numerous forms and terrorizes him and tries to scare and maybe kill him. This goes on most of the night until Dylan finds that in the spell book, farther down the page, are instructions for getting The Djinn to go away. With some difficulty, he manages to execute those steps and it appears to have worked. The Djinn seems to be gone.
That is not the end of Dylan's troubles however, and I am not going to say what happens after that because I don't want to spoil it.
This was one of those movies which took me a few days after I'd seen it to realize just how good it was. Ezra Dewey as Dylan carries almost the whole movie on his shoulders and he does it without being able to speak. His facial expressions and emotions cover a very wide range, amazingly so for a youngster who is apparently in real life just in his early teens. He's more talented than a heck of a lot of other young actors I've seen.
The actual ending of the story happens at the very end of the movie and comes with a sort of moral. I found this movie to be a hell of a lot scarier than some other recent 'fright' movies which are given higher ratings, and I think it's worth watching. I know I'll watch it again.
Here's the basic story: Ezra Dewey plays Dylan, a mute boy of about twelve years old. (In one scene where he is preparing to take a shower, when he has his shirt off we see scars from his throat and down his chest, so apparently some sort of injury or surgery was involved in his lost voice.) Dylan and his dad live in this apartment together, his mom having died sometime previously. Dylan finds a book of what looks like Satanic spells, and one of them tells how to cast a spell to a demon (The Djinn) who will grant him one wish. Unfortunately, Dylan will find that it's not as easy as that.
He waits for his dad to go to work (the night shift at a radio station) and then performs the steps to cast the spell; the wish he makes by mouthing the prescribed words and using sign language is to have his voice and be able to speak.
At first nothing seems to happen. But before long, that situation changes - and Dylan is in for a horrifying night as The Djinn, an evil spirit, takes numerous forms and terrorizes him and tries to scare and maybe kill him. This goes on most of the night until Dylan finds that in the spell book, farther down the page, are instructions for getting The Djinn to go away. With some difficulty, he manages to execute those steps and it appears to have worked. The Djinn seems to be gone.
That is not the end of Dylan's troubles however, and I am not going to say what happens after that because I don't want to spoil it.
This was one of those movies which took me a few days after I'd seen it to realize just how good it was. Ezra Dewey as Dylan carries almost the whole movie on his shoulders and he does it without being able to speak. His facial expressions and emotions cover a very wide range, amazingly so for a youngster who is apparently in real life just in his early teens. He's more talented than a heck of a lot of other young actors I've seen.
The actual ending of the story happens at the very end of the movie and comes with a sort of moral. I found this movie to be a hell of a lot scarier than some other recent 'fright' movies which are given higher ratings, and I think it's worth watching. I know I'll watch it again.