Ouija (2014)

[StevePulaski]

Ouija (2014)
Directed by: Stiles White

From left: Douglas Smith, Ana Coto, Olivia Cooke, Daren Kagasoff and Bianca Santos in Ouija.

Rating: ★

Ouija, as a film and a concept, embodies why the mainstream horror genre finds itself in such a lackluster position in current times. For one, any remaining originality left in an idea is compromised by writing that not only devotes more to jumpscares. Any shred of suspense or mounting dread is compromised by the screenwriter's and cinematographer's desire to get to the loud, immediate jolt in the music or synthesizers so an impulsive reaction can be contained from the audience. As a result, much like the scare, the audience is given an experience they are unlikely to remember very vividly following the credits.

Secondly, there's the element of soiling a material's potential impact by giving it a PG-13 rating. Immediately, veteran movie-lovers and horror fans take note of this stamp as something that caters to the teen demographic, as middle schoolers and high schoolers can now attend the film without a parent or adult guardian. Because this market is included, we can already expect a relatively tame affair that doesn't illicit half of the idea's real potential, and if we consider that this particular idea's potential involves bringing the dead back to life and other demonic occurrences, we can see that quite a lofty amount of potential is sacrificed thanks to this rating.

And, finally, there's just the question of the film's existence. Is there a need for another film focusing on several twentysomethings messing around only for them to experience their ugly fate one by one, in a fashion that is unoriginal and without suspense? Certain films of the genre, admittedly, put a creative twist on the subject matter: The Cabin in the Woods offered a mind-bending, subversive quality to well-worn material, Cabin Fever gave us superb woodsy cinematography to look at while giving us delightful practical effects, and even the recent remake of The Town That Dreaded Sundown provided for a pleasant, meta angle to something that could've been a rote, unsatisfying retelling quite easily.

Ouija offers no element of creativity in the slightest. It lies dead in the water, providing us with what we expect in depressingly mediocre amounts and giving us a plethora of poorly-drawn, empty teenage vessels (not characters) to spew such perfunctory dialog as "I think we should stop playing" and "Just leave the stupid game alone." We, the audience, sit at the mercy of a film only eighty-four minutes in length, asking ourselves if there was some way the board in which the teens play on can emancipate us from the confines of shallow storytelling and completely vapid individuals. Alas, such optimism is foolish and cutesy, as the film persists on in a murky, uninteresting fashion, leaving all hope for any remnant of thought or originality to be almost entirely lost.

Even the weaker, less compelling horror films ordinarily include some sort of intriguing element: perhaps the cinematography looks nice, the music is on-point quite frequently, or one or more of the characters is compelling in some way. Ouija is the rare case where it may as well be the cinematic personification of a flat soda left out in the sun in which all of its qualities are thrown into an indistinct pot where they are all muted beyond any form of recognition. I've come a personal ethical quibble with myself on whether or not I should award it points as film for doing that so shockingly, but, if this review hasn't proved it already, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Starring: Douglas Smith, Ana Coto, Olivia Cooke, Daren Kagasoff and Bianca Santos. Directed by: Stiles White.