Distressed over the apparent suicide of one of their friends, a group of teenagers decide to contact her spirit using a Ouija board. What they unleash is something evil, seeking to destroy them all.
There’s not much use going into an extended description of the film because the plot is flimsy at best. I’m not sure why any movie studio thinks it’s a good idea to base a movie on a board game (see Battleship), but given the mystique surrounding the Ouija board, there surely could have been something better than Ouija.
Almost nothing happens during the first half hour, save for the opening death of the friend. Characters wander around morosely checking in to make sure the other friends are all okay. “Are you ok?” “I’m ok.” “You doing ok now that Debbie’s gone?” “I guess I’m ok.” Of course, I’m embellishing here, but only slightly because that’s exactly how slow and tedious the first third of the film is.
And it doesn’t get much better after that.
There are maybe two scenes that will elicit a jolt from a viewer but there’s no reason to sit through an hour and a half of wasted opportunity just for that. Ouija is simply a lazy exercise in moviemaking. It may be based on a board game, but it plays a bored game with its audience.
Ouija grade: D-
This Old Haunted House 