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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

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Theme: Genies

The genie is a magical creature in fantasy and children’s fiction. It is a being that usually appears out of a magical lamp after it is rubbed and will grant the summoner three Wishes. Often these wishes are not always what the summoner desires, can have unintended consequences or the wording can be misinterpreted.

Genies are most often found in tales of Arabian Nights, in particular the story of Aladdin. There have also been a number of comedies and Light Fantasy Films about genies appearing in the modern world.

Beneath the Westernised concept of the genie lies the djinn taken from Islamic Mythology. This too is a magic being and is referred to in the Qu’ran/Koran. In conception, the djinn is neither good nor evil. In genre cinema however, the djinn is frequently a malevolent or demonic spirit at far remove from the Westernised genie.


The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

11 September 20005 August 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Arabian Nights Adventures

Director: Nathan Juran
Actors: Kerwin Mathews, Torin Thatcher, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer
Category: Fantasy

Aladdin (1992)

3 July 19994 October 2024

Rating: ★★

Disney Animation/Arabian Nights Adventure

Director: Ron Clements, John Musker
Actors: Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, …
Category: Fantasy

Aladdin (2019)

17 August 20193 June 2025

Rating: ★★

Live-Action Disney Remake/Arabian Nights

Director: Guy Ritchie
Actors: Will Smith, Naomi Scott, Mena Massoud, Marwan Kenzari, …
Category: Fantasy

Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996)

20 December 200327 September 2019

Rating: ★★½

Disney Animation/Arabian Nights Adventure

Director: Tad Stones
Actors: Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, John Rhys-Davies, …
Category: Fantasy

Arabian Adventure (1979)

18 June 19994 May 2020

Rating: ★★

Arabian Nights Adventure

Director: Kevin Connor
Actors: Oliver Tobias, Christopher Lee, Puneet Sira, Emma Samms, …
Category: Fantasy

Arabian Nights (2000)

2 July 20053 July 2022

Rating: ★★★★

Tales of Arabian Nights

Director: Steve Barron
Actors: Mili Avital, Dougray Scott, Jason Scott Lee, John Leguizamo, …
Category: Fantasy

Arabian Nights (2015)

8 August 201627 November 2024

Rating: ★★

Anthology of Portuguese Magical Realist Vignettes

Director: Miguel Gomes
Category: Fantasy

Azur and Asmar (2006)

1 July 20241 July 2024

Rating: ★★★

Animation/Arabian Fairytale

Director: Michel Ocelot
Category: Fantasy

Clash of the Titans (2010)

3 April 20106 October 2024

Rating: ★

Greek Mythology Adventure

Director: Louis Leterrier
Actors: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, …
Category: Fantasy

Curse of Mesopotamia (2015)

27 April 202327 April 2023

Rating: ★★

Iraqi Horror Film

Director: Lauand Omar
Actors: Mauricio Rousselon, Hania Amar, Melissa Mars, Stacy Thunes, …
Category: Horror

The Curse of Sleeping Beauty (2016)

13 March 201827 May 2020

Rating: ★★

Horror Version of Sleeping Beauty

Director: Pearry Teo
Actors: Ethan Peck, India Eisley, Bruce Davison, Zach Ward, …
Category: Horror

Djinn (2013)

4 February 201516 August 2020

Rating: ★

Islamic Horror Film/Haunted Apartment Block

Director: Tobe Hooper
Category: Horror

The Djinn (2021)

23 May 202229 September 2022

Rating: ★★

Kid Summons a Djinn

Director: David Charbonier, Justin Powell
Actors: Ezra Dewey, Rob Brownstein, Tevy Poe, John Erickson, …
Category: Horror

The Field Guide to Evil (2018)

6 December 201920 October 2024

Rating: ★★★½

Horror Anthology

Director: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz, Can Evrenol, Agnieszka Smoczynska, …
Category: Horror

Kandisha (2020)

27 February 202210 June 2025

Rating: ★★

Mythical Boogeywoman

Director: Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury
Actors: Mathilde Le Musse, Suzy Bemba, Samarcande Saadi, Meriem Sarolie, …
Category: Horror

Kazaam (1996)

31 March 199930 September 2022

Rating: ★

Kid Befriends Genii

Director: Paul M. Glaser
Actors: Shaquille O'Neal, Francis Capra, Ally Walker, Marshall Manesh
Category: Fantasy

The Lamp (1987)

24 January 201723 December 2024

Rating: ½

Malevolent Genie’s Lamp

Director: Tom Daley
Actors: Andra St. Ivani, James Huston, Deborah Winters
Category: Horror

Long Time Dead (2002)

5 September 20026 January 2024

Rating: ★★½

Malevolent Djinn

Director: Marcus Adams
Actors: Alec Newman, Marsha Thomason, Joe Absolom, Lukas Haas, …
Category: Horror

Red Sands (2009)

22 October 20133 December 2024

Rating: ★★½

US Soldiers in Afghanistan Encounter a Djinn

Director: Alex Turner
Actors: Shane West, Leonard Roberts, Aldis Hodge, Callum Blue, …
Category: Horror

The Return of Jafar (1994)

20 December 200428 September 2019

Rating: ★

Disney Animation/Aladdin Sequel

Director: Toby Shelton, Tad Stones, Alan Zaslove
Actors: Scott Weinger, Dan Castellaneta, Linda Larkin, Gilbert Gottfried, …
Category: Fantasy

Snow White (2001)

29 June 20085 October 2024

Rating: ★★★

Fairy-Tale

Director: Caroline Thompson
Actors: Miranda Richardson, Kristin Kreuk, Clancy Brown, Michael J. Anderson, …
Category: Fantasy

The Thief of Bagdad (1940)

25 February 200626 June 2022

Rating: ★★★★

Arabian Nights Adventure

Director: Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell, Tim Whelan
Actors: Sabu, Conrad Veidt, John Justin, Rex Ingram, …
Category: Fantasy

A Thousand and One Nights (1945)

27 November 20241 April 2025

Rating: ★★½

Arabian Nights Adventure

Director: Alfred E. Green
Actors: Cornel Wilde, Phil Silvers, Evelyn Keyes, Adele Jergens, …
Category: Fantasy

Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)

1 October 20224 July 2024

Rating: ★★★½

Djinn Appears

Director: George Miller
Actors: Tilda Swinton, Idris Elba, Erdil Yasaroglu, Aamito Lagum, …
Category: Fantasy

Three Wishes (1995)

20 February 199926 April 2023

Rating: ★★½

1950s Coming of Age Tale/Mysterious Stranger

Director: Martha Coolidge
Actors: Patrick Swayze, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Joseph Mazzello, David Marshall Grant, …
Category: Fantasy

Under the Shadow (2016)

7 October 201615 May 2025

Rating: ★★★½

Iranian Woman Haunted By a Djinn

Director: Babak Anvari
Category: Horror

Wishmaster (1997)

21 July 200010 July 2020

Rating: ★★½

Evil Wish-Granting Djinn

Director: Robert Kurtzman
Actors: Andrew Divoff, Tammy Lauren, Robert Englund, George Buck Flower, …
Category: Horror

Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies (1999)

21 July 200115 September 2019

Rating: ★★

Evil Wish-Granting Djinn

Director: Jack Sholder
Actors: Andrew Divoff, Holly Fields, Paul Johansson, Oleg Vidov, …
Category: Horror

Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell (2001)

5 March 201423 July 2019

Rating: ½

Evil Wish-Granting Djinn

Director: Chris Angel
Actors: A.J. Cook, Jason Connery, Tobias Mehler, Louisette Geiss, …
Category: Horror

Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled (2002)

21 December 201111 June 2025

Rating: ★

Evil Wish-Granting Djinn

Director: Chris Angel
Actors: Tara Spencer-Nairn, Michael Trucco, John Novak, Kimberly Huie, …
Category: Horror

The Wizard of Baghdad (1960)

31 May 200111 June 2025

Rating: 0­

Arabian Nights Comedy

Director: George Sherman
Actors: Dick Shawn, Diane Baker, John Van Dreelen, Robert F. Simon, …
Category: Fantasy

Recent Posts

  • The Ritual (2025)
  • Long Distance (2024)
  • To the Solitary Me Who Loved You (2022)
  • Parallel World Love Story (2019)
  • The Loch Ness Horror (2023)
  • Planetquake (2024)
  • Earthtastrophe (2016)
  • It Lives Inside (2023)
  • Subservience (2024)
  • Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025)
  • The Assessment (2024)
  • The Mighty Gorga (1969)
  • Empire of the Apes (2013)
  • The Holy Virgin Versus the Evil Dead (1991)
  • Swarmed (2005)
  • Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo (1977)
  • Incantation (2022)
  • Dick Dynamite: 1944 (2023)
  • The Shrouds (2024)
  • Clown in a Cornfield (2025)
  • Incoming (2018)
  • Box: Metaphor (2023)
  • The House That Vanished (1973)
  • Skinwalker Ranch (2013)
  • A Werewolf in England (2020)

Contact Moria

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Theme Essays

  • Films About Atlantis
  • Werewolf Films
  • Virtual Reality
  • Imprisonment Thrillers
  • Films Depicting NASA and the Space Program
  • Human Bloodsports and Death Games
  • Animals Attack Films
  • Films About Plague and Pandemic
  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns
∧

Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2025

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