Jinn: Season 1 (3/5) – Netflix Series Review

Jinn is a new Series on Netflix. The genre-bending Fantasy, Horror, and Drama series is an Arabic-language production. Season 1 is just 5 episodes so it’s quick to watch. Read more in our Jinn review here!

Jinn is out on Netflix now and the new series is a hybrid of fantasy, horror, sci-fi and drama. It might not offer enough horror or sci-fi for your taste since fantasy and drama is at the forefront of the plot. 

Still, the Arabic-language Netflix series is a good old coming-of-age story (with ancient creatures involved) that should find its audience quite easily. Jinn was produced in Lebanon and Jordan but will obviously reach viewers all over the world through this Netflix release.

Read more about Season 1 of the new Netflix series in our Jinn review below.

An Arabic Netflix genre series

I know, Jinn can sound like quite a mouthful. But a good story is a good story no matter what language its made in. For those worried about the language not being English, don’t be. It does actually also feature quite a bit of English words throughout the dialogue.

So really, don’t be too worried about the language issue. Also, you can always use the dubbing feature though I can never recommend it! Unlike for cartoons and other animation movies, the dubbing is never very good. At least not compared to watching it in the original language.

Besides, having to read subtitles means you’ll have to actually pay attention to the storyline of Jinn. You can’t be “half-watching” while also commenting on Facebook or Twitter, so you might actually get more out of the story. Just sayin’.

Jinn is almost like an Arabic Riverdale

While the story of Jinn doesn’t take place in the Americas or Europe – like most Netflix series – the production quality is on par with what you’d expect from a Netflix production. Both sound and image are spot-on and the effects work pretty well too. I mean, sure, there is some use of CGI that I could do without. But it does work for the storyline.

In many ways, Jinn does feel a bit like an Arabic version of Riverdale. Or maybe even Chilling Adventures of Sabrina or some other fantasy-based series. This makes Jinn come across as both very new and quite familiar. 

Also, there’s a very clear definition of what the Jinn is very early on. Honestly, it comes across as pretty clumsy, but I have a feeling it’s also necessary to get the audience on board from the very beginning.

One of the writers, Tamir Naber, previously worked as a Second Unit or Assistant Director on some pretty huge blockbuster productions. Including the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Denis Villeneuve’s brilliant Incendies (2010). My point is simply, that some very talented people have worked to make this series as good as possible.

The school principal is played by Anouar H. Smaine. He’s done bit parts on Westworld and will also be in the Veronica Mars Hulu mini-series. Don’t expect to know any of the actors in Jinn unless you’re familiar with other Arabic movies or TV series. Even then, you probably won’t since this cast does feature a lot of fresh faces.

Watch Season 1 of Jinn on Netflix now!

Jinn has more than 10 writers attached to create the five episodes of season 1. The directing, however, was done by just two directors. Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya directed three episodes and Amin Matalqu directed two episodes. The most experienced director is definitely Amin Matalqu who was quite a few movies on his IMDb resume.

For Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, Jinn is only the third credit as a director after having made a short film in 2012 and a movie in 2015. Both of which he also took part in writing. And yes, he did also co-write the very first episode of Jinn.

Episode 1 of Jinn has a runtime around 45 minutes, but the remaining four episodes all have a runtime under 30 minutes, so season 1 of Jinn is a very quick binge. 

While Jinn doesn’t have much horror, it does feature some ancient beings and has a damn gorgeous backdrop with lots of scenes shot in Petra in Jordan. You should recognize the area of Petra from the ending of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

To me, Jinn is the kind of series you should enjoy if you like fantasy drama with a young cast. Otherwise, it probably won’t do much for you.

All 5 episodes of Jinn: Season 1 is out on Netflix globally from Jun 13, 2019.

Details

Directors: Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, Amin Matalqa
Stars: Sultan Alkhail, Hana Chamoun, Yasser Al Hadi, Hamzeh Okab, Zaid Zoubi, Salma Malhas, Ban Halaweh, Aysha Shahaltough, Hana Chamoun, Manal Sehaimat, Faris Al Bahri

Plot

On a field trip to Petra, two jinns – one good, the other evil – enter the human realm, turning high school into a supernatural battleground.