Ouija
When I was a little kid, an older friend of mine, Anna, showed me my first ouija board. (Anna also told me my first ghost story and introduced me to Are You Afraid of the Dark?, so she was a huge influence in shaping my love of horror.) I was immediately fascinated.
These days, I don't play with ouija boards. I'm generally a sceptic when it comes to the supernatural, but I still believe that there are some things in life you just don't fuck with. (I also refuse to say Bloody Mary in the mirror or eat the grocery store's discount sushi). However, ouija boards and the supernatural in general still fascinate me (obviously), which is why I was willing to give Ouija a chance, despite its universally bad reviews.
So was it as bad as everyone said?
Well, sort of. It wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen, but I wouldn't exactly recommend it either. It's a competently directed film marred by a dull script. The acting is generally decent. Leads Olivia Cooke and Ana Coto show particular potential and could probably do far better given a decent script. Lin Shaye is also a delight, as always, in a small role.
The main problem is that the movie is just boring. There are a couple of halfway decent jump scares (but just a couple), and they don't occur until over half an hour into the film.
Ouija was followed by a prequel Ouija: Origin of Evil that fared much better with critics. Directed by genre darling, Mike Flanagan (Oculus), it promises to have some real scares. I look forward to checking that one out.
As for Ouija, I don't regret watching it. It's not an hour and a half of my life I desperately want back or anything like that. But I also doubt I'll be watching it again. And I'm definitely not recommending it to you.
These days, I don't play with ouija boards. I'm generally a sceptic when it comes to the supernatural, but I still believe that there are some things in life you just don't fuck with. (I also refuse to say Bloody Mary in the mirror or eat the grocery store's discount sushi). However, ouija boards and the supernatural in general still fascinate me (obviously), which is why I was willing to give Ouija a chance, despite its universally bad reviews.
So was it as bad as everyone said?
Well, sort of. It wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen, but I wouldn't exactly recommend it either. It's a competently directed film marred by a dull script. The acting is generally decent. Leads Olivia Cooke and Ana Coto show particular potential and could probably do far better given a decent script. Lin Shaye is also a delight, as always, in a small role.
The main problem is that the movie is just boring. There are a couple of halfway decent jump scares (but just a couple), and they don't occur until over half an hour into the film.
Ouija was followed by a prequel Ouija: Origin of Evil that fared much better with critics. Directed by genre darling, Mike Flanagan (Oculus), it promises to have some real scares. I look forward to checking that one out.
As for Ouija, I don't regret watching it. It's not an hour and a half of my life I desperately want back or anything like that. But I also doubt I'll be watching it again. And I'm definitely not recommending it to you.
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