PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Before watching The Djinn, the latest film from filmmakers Justin Powell and David Charbonier, I had no idea what one was. It’s described as, “an intelligent spirit of lower rank than the angels, able to appear in human and animal forms and to possess humans.” Well, that’s fucking scary. I was lucky enough to chat with Justin and David about the film, dealing with rejection in the industry, and why they love horror.
PopHorror: Hey guys! I really loved The Djinn. I’m a huge fan of The Boy Behind the Door so I was really excited to see that you guys have something new.
Justin Powell: Aw, thank you so much!
David Charbonier: Thank you so much! That means a lot
PopHorror: So, both The Djinn and The Boy Behind the Door, which was your feature film debut, have played some really awesome festivals. How does that feel to have your two films play such amazing fests?
Justin Powell: Oh man, it feels pretty incredible, I gotta say. Just to have, especially in this era, the ability for people to actually access the hard work that we put in and have an audience for it, it’s kind of surreal in a way. It’s been a roller coaster in the best way.
David Charbonier: Definitely. We’re super excited and just really thankful that we have the chance to show people both the movies and all the amazing work the cast and the crew and everyone put into making them happen. It’s been great.
PopHorror: That’s really awesome! You both co-wrote and directed this film. What inspired the story, and how did the project come about?
Justin Powell: So, it’s a weird story. Basically, the story of The Djinn actually came out in 2018 and was going to go then, but it got pushed. And we resolved that we want to make our first feature this year. Like it’s going to happen, and we’re going to figure out a way. And so we really just gathered all of our resources, and we really had limited resources. We had already cast Ezra [Dewey] for The Boy Behind the Door, so we were like, “Okay, he’s available, and he’s excellent, so we can definitely lean on him and get him for this movie.” We also had access to an apartment. We were only going to have access to that apartment for a little over a month at that time, so we really made that decision. We actually crafted the story around those limitations. We knew the resources that we had to then create the story. It was a different process for us. We hadn’t done something like that before, but it was a lot of fun to do that. It was a little stressful at times but still fun.
PopHorror: I bet! What is it that draws you to horror?
David Charbonier: That’s a really good question. It’s the kind of movies growing up that we both bonded over. Those classic iconic horror movies from 70s and 80s. Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Friday the 13th, Child’s Play especially. I don’t really know what it is about horror movies. I feel like it’s just a great form of escapism, but in all of the good ones—if you take the horror away—you still have a movie that talks about really serious universal themes. It’s also like a ride. Who doesn’t like to watch a movie and take a ride and feel that rush of adrenaline? It’s the genre that we want to keep exploring and growing and pushing ourselves in. Yeah, it just feels like the best genre to tell stories.
PopHorror: I agree. And I love the adrenaline, as well so I like that a lot.
Justin Powell: Everything David said, I totally agree with. It’s like being able to tell these universal stories in a way that is still like a fun thrill ride. I think it’s a very unique genre in that way. You can’t easily do that in other genres. It really lends itself to that.
PopHorror: There are some things that you can do in horror that you could never do in another genre, and that’s what makes it so much more fun. There are no limitations, whereas if you have a comedy, you have to stay within the funny thing. With horror, you can do anything. So, I really love that. What’s one piece of advice that you wish someone had given to you when you first started?
Justin Powell: I guess I would say… Well, you go ahead, David.
David Charbonier: I feel like we’re going to have the same answer. For me, I feel like if someone had said there’s going to be a lot of rejection and just accept that going in. And that you’re going to find people left and right that are going to find a reason to say, “No.” A lot of the time, it’s going to be conflicting reasons and conflicting advice, and it’s gonna be kind of confusing. But as long as you find a way to still believe in yourself and just keep trying to push through, even if you do have to do a project sort of on your own. Even if no one sees it, it brings validation, which is all part of your growth. I’m so not answering this question very well.
PopHorror: No, you’re doing great!
David Charbonier: Basically, just don’t give up. You just have to not let the rejections get you down because it can be quite demoralizing at times. If you’ve been working in the industry, or you’ve been trying to make it for eight years, and then you have nothing to show for yourself, it’s kind of depressing. Justin, do you have a more optimistic spin on that?
Justin Powell: Well, first you are right. That is the exact same answer I was going to give, basically. I think that a lot of this industry is kind of built on rejections and hearing, “No,” but being able to persevere despite that. Really having the belief that if you really want to make a story and make your mark, just don’t give up and try to keep finding a way until you get the breakthrough. If it comes out having to eventually do it yourself… That’s what The Djinn was. After all that work we had put in for all these other scripts to get going, and all of a sudden we can’t make a movie in 2018. We were like, “No, we’re going with that. We’re making a movie this year.” And just decided to figure it out and do it ourselves. Sometimes, your best ideas can come out of all of that rejection and being pushed into a corner. If we could go back and tell ourselves some advice like, “Hey, you’re going to get hit with a lot of no’s. Just keep on going and we promise you it’s going to work out.”
PopHorror: I love that so much. I love your dynamic. Just listening to you guys talk back and forth has been a lot of fun. Are you currently working on anything? What’s up next for you?
David Charbonier: Well, thank you for that. We are constantly working on writing and developing stories. There is one story that we’re really excited about. I don’t know if we can talk about it yet. Also because we’re also really superstitious, and we don’t want to jinx us.
PopHorror: I totally get that!
David Charbonier: I feel like we’ve got to be cautiously optimistic because again, that theme of rejection is so strong. But definitely, if we are lucky enough to keep making movies, we want to stay in the genre. We want to keep telling stories that have interesting characters. Hopefully, characters that we don’t see too often. We like stories that have empowerment. We don’t like horror that is cruel for cruelty’s sake. We do want to stay true to the kind of movies that we want to make, which are the kind of movies that we would want to see as an audience member.
PopHorror: Why make a movie if you wouldn’t watch it?
Justin Powell: Exactly!
David Charbonier: We’ve gotten some offers to make some.
PopHorror: One last question for you both. What is your favorite scary movie?
Justin Powell: I know mine.
David Charbonier: Are you going to say The Thing?
Justin Powell: Yeah, I am!
David Charbonier: Yeah, of course. That’s an amazing one. It’s a classic.
Justin Powell: I love that movie so much.
PopHorror: I love that you just called him out on that.
David Charbonier: It’s hard for me to pick just one. Obviously, all the classics by John Carpenter. More recent ones that I really love are Don’t Breathe, and The Descent by Neil Marshall is just so amazing. And then Child’s Play. And Gremlins. If you can even count the first Gremlins as a horror movie.
It is most definitely a horror movie! Thank you so much to David and Justin for taking the time to talk with us. Be sure to catch The Djinn, in theaters, and VOD now!
