Predictable, but provides the jump factor from the onset.

Director: Stiles White

Starring: Olivia Cooke, Daren Kagaskoff, Douglas Smith, Bianca Santos, Ana Coto, Shelley Hennig. 

Running Time: 83 mins

Certificate: 15

What is the plot?

The film follows a group of young friends who try to chat with their friend who mysteriously died. Wanting answers they use the ouija board to communicate with her from beyond the grave, but they don’t get the response they were hoping for… 

Ouija boards and horror are a frightening combination that go hand-in-hand and it seems logical to create a spine-tingling film on the mysterious board itself. With OUIJA, the low-budget film has the perfect formula for frightening the audience – but that is only if you are easily scared or hoping for a night of heart pounding moments which provides the regular jumps. Hardcore horror fans may not get their kicks from OUIJA, as it may not contain enough gore, grit and gruesomeness to captivate horror aficionados, but with the release on Halloween, the movie looks set to bring in an eager audience yearning to be spooked.

The film’s plot begins when teenager Debbie (Shelley Hennig) finds an antique Ouija game in the loft and breaks one of the cardinal rules of the board – playing alone. Not knowing what has been conjured, she is found dead shortly after trying to burn the board and her death appears to others as suicide.

Her best friend Laine (Olivia Cooke) is not convinced that she would take her own life, so after rallying her grieving friends and sister to support her, she decides to attempt to contact her through the titular board, which has survived being burnt and mysteriously reappears in Debbie’s wardrobe.

After making contact with a spirit, they assume it is Debbie, after her salutation “Hi, friend.” But after some spooky occurrences, where they all receive the same message on the window of their car, typed into the computer and even etched onto a wooden table, they realise all is not what it seems – and it’s not Debbie.  The conjured spirit is “DZ” a young girl with her mouth sewn up, who appears to be frightened by her mother.  

Murderous events soon unfold and rather predictably the friends are dispatched of one by one, becoming her unfortunate victims. 

In desperate vain to stop the horrific turn of events, the inquisitive Laine researches who the previous residents of the house were and discovers some rather shocking results about the history of the house and the family that lived there. Seeking answers from the dead young girl’s sister, who is confined to a mental institute, Paulina (Lin Shaye) offers some rather scary advice on how to stop the spirit and prevent further murders, but she has a secret agenda.  In a race against time, Laine decides to take action, but as always, things are not always what they seem and saying “goodbye” to the spirits, the ouija board and the horrific events that have occurred since playing, prove to be a more difficult task than expected.

Director Stiles White, has created a decent heart rate enhancing film from a rather predictable script, although there is a slight unexpected twist to the film after Laine takes the advice of Paulina in the mental institute.  The movie encompasses the typical jump moments, loud screams and high tension, which runs throughout the film and it’s not all saved for a big crescendo at the end – a rather successful selling point of the film. 

The young cast are rather photogenic and perform well on camera, although the lacklustre script fails to help them make a lasting impression. It does not provide much room for emotional deliveries considering Laine’s friends are being popped off one after the other, with too few moments of grieving and emotion to make it believable.  Olivia Cooke stands out well amongst the young group and Lin Shaye delivers her psychotic role rather effortlessly and spectacularly.  

Overall, OUIIJA will no doubt be a popular teen horror movie, which will draw in the crowds who are after a scare at the box office.  The film provides the jumps, but when it comes to such matters as character development and emotion it will leave you a bit discontented.

Verdict:

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