Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Ouija’

Written by Scott Edwards

When moving into a new house, do you ever wonder what happened behind the doors before you got there? The house might be new to you, but there could have been numerous families living there before you even set foot in the front door. It can be hard to imagine that a simple building could hold on to memories, but in some instances a piece of the previous owner never leaves. When searching through the attic or the basement, you may stumble upon something that was left behind, but it is up to you to discover if it was an accident or intentional. 

Laine Morris and Debbie Galardi have been friends ever since they can remember. But Debbie’s attitude is starting to change, and Laine wants to know what is going on. Passing on going to her school’s basketball game with her best friend, Debbie is trying to get away from someone or something and thinking that burning the Ouija board in her possession would take care of her problem, she finds out that she is dead wrong. Seeing something through the hole in the middle of the planchette, Debbie gathers up some of the Christmas lights around the house and throws herself over the banister with them tied around her neck.

Laine and her boyfriend Trevor are having coffee when Laine’s father demands she gets home right away.  Finding out that her best friend in the world has died, Laine is beyond sad but will do anything for the family. When Mrs. Galardi decides to leave town for some time, Laine will watch over the house until she returns. Knowing that the house is empty, Laine attends to the common tasks that have been asked of her, but she starts to hear some strange noises coming from upstairs. Investigating, Laine finds an old Ouija board in Debbie’s room and knowing that there is only one way to communicate with the dead, she decides to have her friends come along and try to reach Debbie, for no other reason to say goodbye.

When the board comes to life, it says ‘Hi Friend’ so everyone is at ease that they are talking with Debbie, but when they leave, they all receive the same message in different places. Thinking that Debbie is trying to tell them something, they all join together again with the board and start asking more difficult questions and what they find changes their outlook on what the board is trying to tell them. As Laine holds up the planchette and gazes through the hole, she sees her friend sitting next to her with her mouth sewed shut. Needing to find out what is happening to Debbie and why her friends are being killed off, Laine pairs up with Pete to investigate what happened in the house before Debbie moved in. Finding out that a young girl was killed by her mother in the house, the young girl’s sister is still alive and Laine needs to talk with her before she possibly becomes the next victim of whatever has come from the darkness.

After reading reviews of this when it first came out, I was not looking forward to watching it, but I am a firm believer to give every movie a fair chance. The storyline is good, taking several twists and turns and still winding up where you think it will. I expected a little more scares in it and the movie used the normal jump scare devices that we are used to, but as the movie gets closer to the end, you will be treated with some different ones that may make you jump a little. I like the sister dynamic that was shown in the film, even though you don’t get the full story about what happened to their mother, and the friendships that are challenged when they find out that the board is not a game was kind of fun. The highlight of the movie came from the telling of what happened in the house, not to give anything away, but a crazy mother trying to conjure spirits is freaky enough and using her daughter to be the gateway is just bad parenting in my opinion. Not a bad movie at all I hope that the cast does more of these types of movies, I see some talent that might just become the future of the genre. Stay Scared.

---