When we were all younger, there were stories that we all heard that would scare us. Knowing these stories change based on your geographical location and culture, all I have are the ones that use to scare me. Stories like The Donkey Lady, where you would call a number or of course you could go into a restroom and turn the lights off and repeat Bloody Mary’s name three times. Looking back on it all you can only laugh now at it, but you know at the time it was no joke. One thing I did never get into was a Ouija board, I mean how scary could it be, after all it is made by Hasbro, and being made by Hasbro you knew it would be a movie.
Debbie (Shelley Hennig) and Laine(Olivia Cooke) as kids use to play with a Ouija for kicks. As they grew up they remained best friends, and while Laine has forgotten all about those times, Debbie still likes to dabble with the old Ouija board. Unknowns to Debbie she makes contact with something or someone who is not very nice, and soon Debbie discovers a different use for Christmas lights. As Laine and all of Debbie’s friends morn her death , Laine feels like she didn’t get her goodbye and decides to use the Ouija board to get in touch with Debbie. Laine convinces her sister Sarah (Ana Coto), and her boyfriend Trevor (Daren Kagasoff) as well as Debbie’s boyfriend and one more friend to play the game. While Debbie does not answer they get another spirit who is not very nice and soon starts taking them out one by one.
When it comes to horror movies, there are a lot more misses then hits. While it is easy to know what scares people, it is a lot harder to execute. When it comes to “Ouija” they had a good property, but they have no idea what to do with it. The story written by Juliet Snowden and Stiles White, who also directed the film, is filled with so many horror movie clichés and cheap scares, that there seems to be nothing original. There is no substance to the story and you could care less about any of the characters as they bite the dust. Horror movies need to be refreshed in order to stay good, instead “Ouija” looks like it could have come out in the nineties and would have been a much better straight to video then a feature film. If the bad story won’t keep you away, the lack of any thing that will scare you should, there are “Scooby Doo” episodes that produced more fear then this film. So if you are looking for a scary movie to fill your Halloween weekend with frights, this is not the film for you, because if you see this, the only thing you will be screaming is “game over man” as you exit the theater.
Brian Taylor
