Ouija

Director - Stiles White 

Starring - Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One, Bates Motel), Ana Coto (Can't Take It Back, Disconnected), and Daren Kagasoff (The Secret Life of an American Teenager, Stalker)

Release Date - 2014

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Keep telling yourself it's just a game"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     The Purge was a solid kick off to the Blumhouse Horrors 10 film blu set.  It's not the best movie but it is a fun watch to begin the month of October.  I don't see myself revisiting it anytime soon but it does set the mood for the month.  After watching it I went ahead and quickly tossed in the second film in the set which is the 2014 supernatural horror flick Ouija.  This film spawned several sequels, prequels, and copy cats over the years but it was one I had never seen until now.  

     The film follows a group of friends who recently lost a close friend.  She killed herself a few days after playing with an old Ouija board.  They suspect something more sinister is at play so they break out the same Ouija board that she used to see if they could find some answers.

     I went into this one pretty excited to see the film that started a pretty popular trend in horror.  Sadly, the movie was not what I was expecting and became one I wished I would have skipped.   The movie had a painfully dull story, very bland performances, and the atmosphere was lacking.  The movie just wasn't for me.  The acting in this one is very lackluster.  The characters are very cliched and unoriginal.  If you've seen a paranormal film from the last 20 years then you've seen these same characters.  No redeeming personalities and no performances to hold your attention can be found here.  The story for this one is interesting on paper.  People have an unnatural fear of the Ouija board so having a horror film set around it only made sense.  However, the entire film focused on the board and not enough around an actual set up.  The movie itself feels almost rushed and many of the scenes could be cut with no effect on the story.  Finally, the film is not a bloody one.  We get some visual effects that are solid but if you want some blood and gore you will be very disappointed.  Overall, Ouija is a pop horror flick for the pre-teens.  Honestly, with some editing, I could see it playing on Disney during October,  I do know that it will NOT be playing in my house again.  Skip it.