If you’re looking for fright or delight, try your luck elsewhere.
On Oct. 31, I drove to the movies, hoping to have a good scary movie to tell you guys about. After all, it was Halloween.
On the opening night of Ouija, directed by Stiles White, there was a grand total of 20 other people sitting around me, devouring their popcorn. I silently hoped that the movie was just underrated, and remained seated… I could not have been more wrong.
The story starts with Debbie, played by a quite dramatic Shelley Hennig, a troubled blonde girl who commits suicide by hanging herself with her twinkle lights. Laine, her childhood best friend, played by an unconvincing Olivia Cooke, desperately desires to say goodbye to her. To do so, she gathers a group of friends to play Ouija, hoping to communicate with her. Instead, the five of them make contact with an evil spirit, who they soon find out caused her best friend’s death.
Of course, like most Hollywood productions, the movie’s visuals strived for perfection. But the great special effects couldn’t always make up for the lack of a better scenario.
Though the idea of the Ouija board sounds interesting—after all, who hasn’t wanted to play with one of those as a kid?—it certainly wasn’t developed to its full potential.
After playing once, the group gets tormented. They all start dying, one by one. One of them gets lifted in the air, and her head slammed on the bathroom sink. Though this was supposed to be dramatic, chuckles filled the room.
The one thing I did like was the idea that the teenagers could be attacked by the entity any time of the day, unlike many scary movies where the antagonist only manifests itself at night. Indeed, they were never safe, which brought a bit of suspense to the scenario.
Still, the moments that were supposed to make you jump in your seat were predictable. There were one too many squeaky doors opening by themselves and loud thumping noises coming from upper levels of a creepy old house.
Overall, it ended up just being cliché. The ending (spoiler alert) is the least surprising of the plot twists, suggesting that the nightmare isn’t over for the two sisters, the lone survivors of the tragedy.
My verdict? This movie brings nothing new to the table. I would suggest spending the $11,50 on something else this week, like a bunch of candies and a good old movie rental.
In need of some inspiration? Check out our list of bad horror movies—you will likely find them to be quite entertaining.
