Ouija

      

Along with the many unnecessary remakes we get in the horror genre, films made based off of action figures or board games are probably the most unnecessary that I can think of in the film industry. We should completely understand why this genre of film exists though. If you are making these types of films, likely there is a target market already in place for them. These movies don't work though because it's not like your going to have source material for them because the film is only about a game or a doll. One prime example of these problems occurs in the film Battleship. The film feels nothing liking the classic game Battleship due to the characters and plot elements. Whenever I play Battleship, it's not like I am introduced to characters or a plot. The source material of the game is not at all related to the movie elements. Ouija is the latest dip into this genre in 2014.

Ouija is an infamous spirit board and it's purpose is to talk to the dead and it is self-explanatory why we see ouija boards only in horror films. Films like The Exorcist from 1973 or Paranormal Activity from 2009 are some examples of horror films with Ouija boards. Ouija boards have turned into an urban legend with supposed deaths occurring because of them and this is one reason why my girlfriend hates them with a passion. I am the first one to say that Ouija as it's own movie based off the board would be hard due to because you need a lot of material to support it but it is still an interesting idea none the less. As it turns out, Ouija is enough to get by but still nothing very promising.

After Debbie Galardi (Shelley Hennig) commits suicide after finding a Ouija board in her room, a group of her closest friends come together to find the reason for her suicide though none of them know that the board itself might be the problem.

As I said before, this is the type of plot that needs to rely on substance to survive because it is only based off a game board. The substance though here is average at best. Kill scenes we have all seen before, pacing that is all over the place and a low budget to the film as evidenced by it's lack of location and sets. Ouija is a film that is put together in a way that makes it come off as very unmemorable.

The film's downfall can also go back to the characters. Casting teenagers in these PG-13 horror films is already the norm but in the end, there is really nothing here to see from the cast. There is no substance whatsoever to the characters and they are made in a way that makes you not like or dislike them. They are characters you just watch waiting for the ending. Even Lin Shaye shows up as Paulina Zander, a character that has an interesting backstory to film. This backstory though that feels like a last minute idea and comes into the film too late. The maid of the house played by Vivis Colombetti is quite underused and is a big waste of an idea and a character.

Much like the film Mama from last year or other horror remakes, Ouija is a slumber party film for teenagers girls to get scared who do not know about good horror films yet or will never know. You could even say it is also a film meant to watch with your significant other because at theater for my showing, the place was filled with nothing but couples. Ouija is the type of horror film that I can choose to forgot and will certainly forgot about once I pick the best horror films from 2014.

2.5/5          

Mama

From the 90's and early 2000's, horror films just don't seem to be what they used to be, for me anyway. It seems to be a genre that is running out of ideas, with remakes coming out like no tomorrow. I can't even remember a good recent scary horror movie like we had a lot back in the day.

Mama is, a film made by Andres Muschietti and based on his short film. It is produced by the master Guillermo del Toro and could have been a breakout horror film. The plot revolves around two young girls coming back into the world after being in the woods for five years after their father was killed by a ghost/demon figure. This thing then follows around the girls and is known by the name of "Mama".


Mama has an original plot that has some pieces there but is missing things big time in the middle. The five year time period that the children are alone in the woods does not work because it is highly unlikely that very young girls would live that long on their own and also that they would not have been found. There also is an a aspect here with the younger girl named Lilly who sleeps with leaves and also eats them but we have no idea if it is connected at all to the ghost or why she is doing that.

Some things work but Mama is a good example of a film that does not work within a big budget. Some of the sets are overdone, and there are flickering lights that didn't even work the first time around and everything it tries happens in the dark.

Though intended as a scary film, Mama does not come close to one in my book. It uses some good ideas with a lot of effort and tension but we can see where it is going. It didn't really work and I could see only people like teen girls liking just like the group sitting behind me in the theater. At least somebody liked it.

The ghost in particular does not work well. She does provide some original kill scenes and the scenes are constructed well but to think this is was what we were supposed to be scared of all along once she was revealed was a letdown. It is a very dry ghost that is nothing special and not memorable at all.

                                                       The money shot of this film

Maybe I'm nitpicking too many things but the ending for me was also flawed. There were some good effects and a different setting but it doesn't seem to do much for the film. It makes everything that came before seem meaningless in a way that I didn't think was needed and gives the film a "blah' ending.


There are some moments in this film. Every child actor is played well especially by Isabelle Nelisse who is very creepy for her age and provides some interesting shots with Mama. Jessica Chastain plays a different lead character who works pretty well with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau who is also in the lead. This is a part of the film that really works but it's not something that you want to be the main highlight of the film.


Mama is an up and down horror film that at times is there and delivers but at other times does not. It is a New Era film that is going to have get some attention and get some followers and fans but after a first viewing, there really is not a whole lot that would warrant me to recommend this movie. For me, I was hoping for it to be much more than average. 

2.5/5