By Melissa Antoinette Garza
I had heard nothing but awful things about this movie. Still, I love Ouija boards and movies about them. Whether The Exorcist (1973), Witchboard (1986), or even the romantic comedy Only You (1994) Ouija boards are great for movies.
Though, Steve and my brother Geno were less willing to give it a shot, they relented after I spent $5.00 and started streaming it from Amazon.
All in all, it’s not a good movie. I wanted it to be great so I could shove it down their throat, but it was flawed. That said, it definitely didn’t deserve the panning it got. I hate Michael Bay, but I’d actually say this is one of the better Platinum Dunes productions.
The plot is simple. Laine’s (Olivia Cooke) best friend seemingly commits suicide by hanging herself from Christmas lights. Unable, to deal with the tragedy, she invites her sister, boyfriend and a few others to play the Ouija board. They think they’re talking to her best friend but soon it becomes apparent that an angry entity is really behind the messages. “Hi Friend,” is written all over the place, and sent by text from the demonic force. This is about when I began to think the powers-that-be rather than saying, “Hi Friend” was really saying, “Hi Asshole. Thanks for your money.” Soon, the rash of deaths begin.
The murders are mediocre. The production plays out sort of like Final Destination (2000) meets I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997). The twist at the end is actually unexpected and as it involves the great Lin Shaye, the delivery is amazing.
Aside from Shaye who is phenomenal, the acting is passable. It isn’t great but neither is the material they’re working with. The main stars are at least different from one another enough so they don’t mesh together. Still, the creators don’t do this by utilizing dialogue or adding character depth but purely by costume design. For example, the younger sister wears all black so she’s goth whereas Lanie is more mainstream.
After the twist is revealed, which at least shows the writers were trying, it’s ruined by the actual conclusion. Without giving too much away, I will say Ghost Best Friend comes to help out.
Now this is going to be in Redbox soon enough. Is it worth the $1.20….sure – if there’s not a better choice and you want to watch a movie. It’s watchable, just not exactly enjoyable.
Scared Stiff Rating: 4/10
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