Laine (Olivia Cooke) has just lost her friend Debbie (Shelley Hennig), who has seemingly killed herself. She longs to find out what happened, and decides that she, her sister Sarah (Ana Coto), their friend Isabelle (Bianca A. Santos), her boyfriend Trevor (Daren Kagasoff), and Debbie’s boyfriend Pete (Douglas Smith) should try to reach her with Debbie’s Ouija board. Surprisingly, this doesn’t work out for them.
I first saw Ouija when it was new, and I remember scoffing at it. This time around I have a new respect for it. The performances are great, particularly Olivia Cooke and Lin Shaye as the loony lady with all the answers. The cinematography is gorgeous, and the direction is top-notch.The twist and concept are pretty cool, and there are some legitimately creepy moments. The whole flossing scene is just brutal.
There a couple of scenes that stretch credibility. Like when Debbie is chillin in her house and a door opens by itself and the oven turns on with no one nearby, and she just closes and locks the door and turns the oven off. Then she proceeds to head up to her room, mildly disconcerted. And of course there’s more than one instance of a character hearing a strange noise, calling hello, and then going to investigate the situation as slowly as possible. And my favorite, the convenient superstitious Latina (or possibly Italian?) maid (Vivis Colombetti) who knows all about how to defeat evil Ouija board spirits.
Overall, I like it. It’s not without its charms. Give it a look if you’re in the mood for something without sex, gore, swearing, or comic relief.
