Review of Ouija (2014) by Darryl T — 21 Dec 2015

Ouija is not only the worst movie I've seen in 2015, but one of the worst horror movies I've ever seen. With a ridiculous premise, horrible actors, bad pacing, cheesy effects, laughable dialogue and a boring and predictable script, Ouija is very hard to get through. I can't remember the last time I watched a horror film and felt absolutely nothing. There are sequences where you can see the filmmakers are trying so hard to create atmosphere and tension, and they just miss the mark so epically every time. It's not scary because the plot makes no sense, and the film doesn't explain ANYTHING. People just start dying, and we are never told why and no effort is made to build the ghost/spirit(?) up as any legitimate threat with a malicious nature. The ghost appears to play by its own random laws, and that isn't scary. Not once did I feel the slightest hint of unease or fear, and it was actually kind of sad seeing so many genuine failed attempts.

The lead girl in this movie, Olivia Cooke, is actually a really good actress, but even her talent was completely squandered by the terrible writing and direction, and that was pretty sad to watch too. In fact this whole movie made me pretty sad, especially knowing that this is the kind of horror movie that mass audiences are watching. The resolution of the film too (how they defeat the ghost) is so laughably easy, reminiscent of an episode of Supernatural the way the spirit is defeated so simply in a procedural type fashion. And the use of the Ouija board is totally forced. Also, the movie even comes with one MASSIVE defining plot hole that renders the entire plot nonsensical - just to make it that little bit worse.

Ouija is the definition of generic, studio-packaged horror that is completely misguided, unscary and uninspiring. I want to laugh at this movie, but the fact that Ouija represents mainstream horror, made a ton of money and will likely get an equally bad sequel is more sad than anything.