“Ouija” is an awful movie from every standpoint, assuming you’re watching a movie for the sake of enjoyment. It has plot holes, weak acting, bad pacing, and irredeemable for a horror movie – no scares.
The 2016 prequel “Ouija: Origin of Evil” was equally poor, but second and third installments to a horror franchise usually are (See “Saw” parts 2-25). After sitting through “Ouija” you’ll be asking yourself why on Earth there was ever even a need for a prequel story.
As you may expect, a Ouija Board is the central focus of the film. A device sold at a toy store, sharing shelf space with the like of Monopoly and Chutes and Ladders, is used by a group of friends to conjure up some sinister and demonic stuff. A dopey backstory is added in an attempt to pretend that filmmaker Stiles White is an actual writer, failing at explaining anything about the plot. One scene actually depicts a character recording herself cleaning the house for no other reason than another character needing to watch the recording later on.
Olivia Cooke stars as Laine Morris, and she’s a good actress. She goes through the motions of dealing with her friends, each being picked off by the haunting, though she never ends up in police custody. Laine has a punky sister (Ana Coto) and together, they must work to stop the Ouija Board and the evil it hath summoned.
Yawn.
At just 89 minutes, “Ouija” still manages to be slow and plodding, a true testimony to the ineptitude of Stiles White. You’ll meander through and continuously ask yourself just wtf is happening.
Not fun in a bad way, or bad in a fun way, its just bad. You don’t need to ask an Ouija Board if you should watch “Ouija.” Just take my advice.
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