Ouija, a film review.
Why is it that in any modern film, no one seems to know about the dangers of using an Ouija board? I heard stories about them when I was a kid, and that's heading back to the late eighties/early nineties. And yet, in these films, they seem not to know that you don't mess with the dead. This is a running theme with these types of films, with some idiot always trying to mess with these things and bringing trouble to them. It does seem strange that these characters have no in-world knowledge of these things. It must be a choice on the side of the screenwriters to leave out this knowledge so the story would play out. This is an okay film, but some things weaken the narrative. The characters are a large part of that.
The film opens up with two young girls playing with an Ouija board, laying out the rules for interacting with it. The film then moves to a young woman sitting before a fire, throwing an ouija board and the planchette into the flames. She appears haunted as if shaken by something the viewer is unaware of. We get introduced to the film's protagonist, with a phone call shaking Debbie from her reverie. Lanie wants her to join her, to get out of the house, and after a brief conversation in person, she declines to join her. Debbie returns inside to eat, and strange things start happening. Returning to her room, she finds the planchette on the floor, picks it up and looks through it. Her eye turns white, and Debbie enters a fugue-like state. She then kills herself by hanging, and we flash to Laine and her boyfriend in a diner. We're introduced to her boyfriend, Trevor. She receives a message to come home and learns of Debbie's death. Understandably devastated, she and her family attend the wake, and we see that she is asked to watch the house whilst Debbie's family is away. Looking through Debbie's room upon checking in on the house, she found the Ouija board and its planchette. Laine comes across as someone that needs to be in control, acting as a surrogate mother to her younger sister even though it isn't taken that well. It seems to come from a good place, but she can be overbearing. Though to be fair to her, her sister is kind of a selfish brat which seems typical of teenagers in these types of films. She convinces herself that Debbie is still around, that she wants her to know something, and, of course, convinces the others to use the board with her. And so begins all the fun.
None of them is entirely comfortable with this, most noticeably Isabelle. Things soon take a turn. I always find this stupid, using an Ouija board and thinking contacting the dead is just a game. There are enough stories about these things to make any sensible person wary. And Laine's need for it to be Debbie leaves them open to something else pretending to be her. Though it is worth mentioning that the thing never calls itself Debbie, Laine jumps to that conclusion. After Laine takes the board home, each of them experiences a visitation, the words 'hi friend' written in one form or another. Laine is convinced it is Debbie and convinces the others to use the board again. It amazes me that they don't ask who they are talking to until it is too late, that no one thinks to question this entity. And they learn that it is not Debbie they are talking to, that they had never been talking to her. After being scared off, Laine watches a video of Debbie playing alone, something you're not supposed to do. Isabelle is the first one killed off, far more directly than Debbie was. This sends the rest into a panic, and Laine and Pete begin to search Debbie's house to learn more. They discover the house's history and those that lived there. Of course, nothing is quite what it seems, and after a visit to the older sister Laine thinks she has a way to stop this haunting. By all the gods, is she wrong!
After learning of being tricked, Laine, and those left, attempt to put Dorris to rest before she kills them. Not the simplest of tricks. After a showdown below Debbie's house, they succeed, though the ending suggests they might have failed. The film is overall watchable but lacks something that could push it into being good. It managed to spawn a prequel featuring the family that lived in the house before Debbie, though reinventing some of the narratives. The weaknesses of this film are obvious. The characters make stupid choices and aren't convincing in their roles. It failed to be scary overall, though a couple of jump scares might catch you off-guard.
I'd rate this film 6 out of 10. It's an okay watch, but there are better versions of the same story. The prequel is a much better film. I'd probably watch that one if I had to choose between them. I will review that film when I get around to rewatching it.
