It can’t be easy adapting a board game into a theatrical movie. Especially when the games themselves don’t exactly lend themselves to the format. Regardless, Hasbro (the makers of Jenga and Pictionary among many others) has developed one that does have some potential. Ouija presents plenty of opportunity for ghosts and spiritual forces to provide some creepy chills (although who knows, maybe something really messed up could also be done for the game Twister). So how does the film adaptation fare?
Laine (Olivia Cooke) and Debbie (Shelley Hennig) are best friends who used to play Ouija as children. When tragedy strikes and Debbie is found dead, Laine refuses to believe that her best friend would kill herself. The protagonist discovers a Ouija board in Debbie’s room and rounds up some friends. Together, they attempt to communicate with the deceased teen’s spirit to say goodbye and perhaps find out what really happened. Of course, they open a supernatural portal and end up in contact with something far more horrific.
To be honest, it’s a well produced and zippy effort that isn’t boring for a moment. But it summons just as many laughs as scares. Almost all of the roles require the actors to take actions that can only be described as counter-intuitive. After the apparent suicide of a character’s best friend, the only adult in the household decides to leave on a lengthy business trip. This person is never seen or heard from again for the entirety of the film, even after several more mysterious neighborhood deaths occur.
Characters turn lights off before investigating strange noises. They wander away from the group on their own without reason and choose to run their supernatural explorations in the dark of night. After finding herself in a dangerous situation with a malevolent spirit, Laine desperately attempts to find and retrieve a three dollar flashlight instead of simply leaving. The only adult character who can help these kids is a close family friend who believes in the spirit world. She warns the teens of the evil they are facing, but she doesn’t actually offer to assist them in attempting to survive.
There are fake jolts abound. Characters seem to stand in the darkness silently without any intention other than to step out and startle the leads at random intervals. Why are they there and why wouldn’t they announce themselves earlier? To say this is all more than a bit silly would be an understatement. The strange thing is that while it’s all pretty dimwitted, it kind of becomes fun to laugh at.
On the technical side, there is better news. The filmmakers stage an effective recurring flossing gag, a cheesy but high-energy séance scene, and an entertaining climactic showdown contains a decent jolt or two. Perhaps the best effect is that of the Ouija eye piece paddle. It’s used at various points as a looking glass into the spiritual world. As hoped, it always results in a ghost suddenly appearing in a blunt but amusing attempt to startle.
Still, the movie is never truly scary and it’s clearly designed specifically with tweens in mind. At least one can compliment the writers and filmmakers on one aspect. This is a Hollywood tale that features more proactive female characters than audiences usually see… and that’s certainly a beneficial trait to its target audience.
Ouija definitely isn’t a good movie, but on occasion it’s an entertainingly funny one (whether it realizes it or not!). It will best serve young girls looking for a safe chiller or adults who don’t mind laughing at the movie as much as with it. To see something truly scary, one guesses we’ll have to hope for Hasbro to bring us an adaptation of Operation. It has a surgical theme and a clown-like guy with a red nose. Now that’s terrifying!