Compelled to return to his native village to care for his dying mother, Malik (Taqi Nazeer) and his family find themselves still living and working there a year after the ailing parent's death. While his wife Layla (Avita Jay) has buckled down and settled into their new life, daughter Asiya (Iman Akhtar) is not trying to fit in. But what teenager is going to be happy being transplanted from her urban home in Scotland to a rural existence in Pakistan? She's made no friends, hates everything and everybody. A proper teenager.
But all is not as it seems. Malik wants the two women to return home. Layla won't leave without him. And he won't explain his reasons. Except that he will have to, as events spiral beyond his control and the couple risk losing their daughter. Malik comes from a family with close links to the Jinns, the spirit world, and they will have their say.
A fast paced comedy horror, Jinnistan does scary, but not too scary, and delivers plenty of laughs. What struck me most was the similarity between paranormal stories across cultures. In one scene Nazeer could easily imagined as Cushing's Van Helsing, warding off Lee's toothsome Dracula. There's a terrorised village, savage dogs, demonic possession and the traditional satanic laughter. All so familiar. And that only helps to make it funnier.
Written by Nazeer, Jinnistan is great cross cultural fun, and very enjoyable. Mwahahaha...
No comments:
Post a Comment