Review of Ouija (2014) by Filipeneto — 28 Aug 2018

The Ouija board is probably one of the most mysterious instruments of spiritualism, and its ease of acquisition makes it specially appealing to teenagers who likes the supernatural. I have never used it but some of my friends with a taste for these themes have used it or know it well enough to ensure that its not a good idea to use it. Here, in Portugal, its better known as "Jogo do Copo" (literally Game of the Glass, because the triangular pointer is often swapped for a glass cup that has to be broken after the game). Basically, my friends told me that any spirit or demon can answer the call and deceive the players, and the board is the source of several possessions or supernatural disturbances. I don't know if that's true, I'm telling what I've been told, but I will not pay to see if it's true or not. As the people use to say here, "prudent man has died old and suspicious man is still alive". But let's talk about the movie, that's what matters.

The film begins with a good horror premise: an Ouija board that is at the origin of the mysterious death of a young woman. The problem is that the whole plot that develops later is of an awful predictability. In terms of scares, the film also fails roundly. Neither the usual sound and visual tricks were able to make me jump from the seat because I was able to foresee them. The tension, usually compulsory in a horror film, is so absent that it can make us fall asleep. The characters are empty, devoid of personality or some feature that makes us like them, and that makes it indifferent whether they live or die. Some are truly stupid and we just don't care about them. The cast is composed of actors with no talent or experience, who deliver wooden performances, unrealistic and without remarkable merit. Finally, its necessary to talk about CGI, visual and sound effects: although the movie is visually regular, the computer effects are very boring and low, probably because of the low budget.