Film review: Ouija (15)

Ouija (15) review

If you’ve lost count of the amount of horror movies that star relatively young characters doing incredibly stupid things, it’s because the genre is pretty much flooded with them.

In a nutshell, that’s essentially what is wrong with Ouija, which doesn’t really bring anything at all new to the table during its near 1.30hrs run time.

That’s not to say Ouija is a bad film, because it’s not. But it’s just not that good, either.

Served up by Michael Bay (Transformers) and his Platinum Dunes production company, Ouija essentially brings the board game of the same name to life.

If you’re not aware of the Ouija board, it’s often referred to as a spirit board or talking board. People use them to attempt to communicate with the dead.

To quote the ever-reliable Wikipedia, the game “uses a planchette (small heart-shaped piece of wood or plastic) as a movable indicator to indicate the spirit’s message by spelling it out on the board during a séance.”

I’m sure I remember Derren Brown doing something odd with one a few years back, too. But I digress.

Ouija stars Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel) as teenager Laine Morris. The high school student is hell-bent on communicating with her dead best friend Debbie (Shelley Hennig – Teen Wolf) after she dies amid questionable circumstances.

After finding a Ouija board in Debbie’s room, Laine enlists the help of boyfriend Trevor (Daren Kagasoff), her younger sister Sarah (Ana Coto), her friend Isabelle (Bianca Santos), and Debbie’s boyfriend Pete (Douglas Smith) in a bid to try and communicate with her via the spiritual game (I mean, why wouldn’t you?)

Unfortunately for them, they end up hooking up with someone (or something) entirely different, as a spirit known simply as “DZ” responds to their creepy call.

With the teens being seemingly stalked by the spirit after the initial contact, they set about trying to discover just who DZ is before it’s too late.

As mentioned above, it’s absolute horror 101. There’s even a creepy house with a dark history and a mentally unstable older character to tick a few more of the usual boxes.

What I will say in Ouija’s defence is that there are a couple of genuine “jump out of your seat” moments that went down quite well at Boston’s West End Cinema.

Cooke, a new actress to my eyes, also served as a largely impressive female lead in a movie that otherwise contains a bunch of largely forgettable characters.

There are also some pretty grim looking villains and suitably ghastly moments as the movie moves towards its conclusion, which also have to go down as positives.

I’ll be honest, I was never bored watching Ouija. But I was never really that gripped either.

By the end you’ll realise that there’s potential for at least one more film, which is something I’d not be that interested in. Originality and surprises are in limited supply here – and the biggest shock to me was the way Ouija itself is actually spelt.

Rating 2.5/5 (watched at West End Cinema, Boston)

Showtimes at West End Cinema, Boston (November 7 to November 13)

**INTERSTELLAR (12A)
10.20am (Sat/Sun), 2pm, (Fri/Sat/Sun/Wed), 5.30pm (daily) 7.45pm (daily)

OUIJA (15)
2.15pm (Wed), 5pm (Fri/Sat/Sun), 7pm (daily), 9pm (daily)

HORNS (15)
2.30pm (Fri/Wed), 8.40pm (Sun-Thurs)

FURY (15)
2.30pm (Fri), 5.20pm (daily), 8.20pm (daily)

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 3D (12A)
2pm (Fri/Sat/Sun/Wed), 6.30pm (daily)

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 2D (12A)
10am (Sat/Sun), 12.15pm (Sat/Sun), 4.15pm (daily), 8.45pm (Fri/Sat)

ANNABELLE (15)
9pm (daily)

THE MAZE RUNNER (12A)
2.30pm (Fri/Sat/Sun), 4.30pm (Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs)

ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE VERY BAD NO GOOD DAY (PG)
10.45pm (Sat/Sun), 12.45pm (Sat/Sun), 2.45pm (Sat/Sun), 4pm (Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs)

BOOK OF LIFE 3D (U)
10am (Sat/Sun), 2.45pm (Sat/Sun), 5.30pm (daily)

BOOK OF LIFE 2D (U)
12.35pm (Sat/Sun)

THE BOXTROLLS 2D (PG)
12.05pm (Sat/Sun)

KIDS’ CLUB
Fri-Weds 10.30am – Planes 2: Fire and Rescue (U)

SILVER SCREEN
Wed 11.30am – Ouija (15)

** Denotes free list suspended

Box office: 01205 363634
Web: www.westendcinema.co.uk/SavoyBoston