'Ouija House' moderately drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an intriguing if not particularly original premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive as well as the low rating and poor reviews here.
Yet another film seen recently unfortunately, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws those films have are present here, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. 'Ouija House' is terrible, with a plethora of problems (huge ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There is really nothing to recommend other than the scenery not being as cheap as the rest of the film.
Unfortunately, it's shot and edited so poorly, looking like a school project shot on a shaky camera or a phone by an unsteady hand, and the drab and overly-dark colours. It was very clear that the film was made in a rush with no care or enthusiasm. In particular, the camera work was a nauseous assault on the eyes with its excessive amateurish-ness and the lighting is far too dark and a lot of the time inappropriately so.
Going on further to the negatives, the story does feel paper thin, disjointed and over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their annoying and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates and are overdone.
Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The effects are ropy at best, the sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions) and it's best not mentioning the uniformly lumbering, awkward and histrionic acting that shows a huge indifference to the situation and what is going on.
Dialogue can be stilted and rambling, with lots of clichés, lots of unintentional humour that makes some of the film play like a really bad spoof and no depth whatsoever, while the pace goes to a standstill very quickly and drags on forever with very little going on worth caring about and useless padding, never recovering. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments and explanations and the lack of tension and suspense. Would not have minded the lack of originality (the film is extremely derivative and in a dumbed and watered down way) if the story and atmosphere were at least alright in execution, in reality they were both incredibly poorly done.
A lot of 'Ouija House' is often nonsensical and with a lot of confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you jump or shocked are far from creative or scary and are pretty tame. The film often fails to make sense, at worst it's incomprehensible.
There is not enough threat, and what there is of it tends to be used poorly, it is completely unimaginative and more odd than creepy, completely failing to show any sense of horror or creativity. Everything here is neither creative, suspenseful or nail-biting and much of it absurd. Some badly sagging momentum too. The direction is leaden, with an all over the place visual style, and like their heart was not in it or ill at ease, with the non-existent chemistry between the characters and actors coming over as constantly random. This is very dreary and amateurish stuff that fails to be scary, interesting or easy to follow.
Concluding, terrible. 1/10 Bethany Cox
Ouija House
2018
Action / Horror / Thriller
Ouija House
2018
Action / Horror / Thriller
Keywords: ouija boardouija
Plot summary
A girl takes her friends to a house with a dark past for a research project. They unwittingly summon an evil entity with plans of its own who makes the house part of its sinister game.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Less than terrifying game
Not with a demon watching us.
In 1988 some young adults which include cameos by Tara Reid and Tiffany Shepis play Ouija in a witch house. Not good results. Years later Dee Wallace is getting evicted from her home, most likely a statement on her Asylum film wages. Her daughter Laurie (Carly Schroeder) plans on holding a seance in the said home with three friends and her aunt Mischa Barton. Results not so good.
Film was okay. The reunion of "B" horror stars was more of a cameo fest. Hey! How about Linnea? I liked Grace Demarco as a human Ouija Board and that other Ouija thing.
Guide: F-word. No sex. Nudity.
Overall just decent supernatural effort
Gathering her friends together, a group of friends arrives at a secluded family-owned house in the mountains to work on a research project only to realize they've inadvertently released a demonic entity from their family's past through a board game and must try to get out of the house alive.
For the most part, this was a pretty decent entry. One of the film's strongest points is the fact that there's quite a lot of fun to be had with the supernatural aspects of the storyline. This starts off at the very beginning where the supernatural attacks are thrust right in on the ambush of the group after playing with the Ouija board, and when combined with the reveal uring the matter about the site being used for occult witchcraft rituals adds a rather nice atmosphere to the start here. Likewise, the gatherings held between everyone where the backstory involving the different practices that the coven was committing on the townspeople in the past is revealed and a rather chilling if uneventful game with an Ouija board offers up the kind of atmosphere that gives this a decent start. As well, the second half of this one really enhances the fun here which really unleashes the supernatural action. Bringing aboard voices in the distance calling out to the group, getting one of the most chilling tactics ever devised in the inability to leave a location as every escape attempt brings them back to where they started regardless of the chosen route or a fine confrontation with a possessed doll that ties into the backstory of the house and the inhabitants offers up some rather creepy elements into play. Alongside the absolutely chilling finale where it brings aboard the titular concept using the possessed member of the group as a human planchette in order to play which results in some great action during the outcome of each interaction, this is a creepy and chilling concept that has plenty to like about it. As well as the fine blood and gore when it occurs, these are what hold it up over it's few minor flaws. The main issue to be had here with this one is the fact that there's just too much dragging in the film which makes it go on way too long for its own good. That comes about from scenes that either doesn't belong here, from the frequent calls to the mother trying to inform her of his failed attempts to get them to leave or the utterly useless scene of her dressing everybody down for stealing a prop Ouija board that no one was even near in order to remove it. Coupled that with an utterly unimpressive atmosphere from the rest of the cast to the atmosphere presented here due to the bland reactions they have to everything that takes place. As well, there's also the overriding feeling fo cheapness that permeates the entire film as everything just feels way too cheap and hokey to really matter much which both really hold this one down.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Language and Nudity.