Ouija (2007)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure what to make of Ouija. As a devout Horror fan with a special liking to Ghost-Stories, I've seen my share of séance related films and other ghost films. Ouija seems to have very little, if at all, original content.The main idea of the story is pretty good, and could have been used much better for the film. The script is rather annoying, with constant jumps between two or three languages, sometimes in mid sentence (you get used to it after a while, in a way). The acting is OK but not fancy. The cinematography is quite suitable for a ghost story, but the direction simply lacks. Too many scenes seem either stacked together or not at all related to each other. It appears that director Topel Lee has taken features from famous Asian horror films like Thai film Alone (2007), Shutter, and the famous Ju-on (The Grudge), and the film feels like a non original puzzle put together in quite a clumsy way.Many might disagree with my personal opinion, and I am of course in no position to pass judgement, but I simply didn't enjoy Ouija. It's not original, not scary, and not good. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

This film borrows heavily from other more successful horror films. There were times that it seems like Ouija was lifting scenes from the original Grudge series and other successful J-horror films. The scary scenes are generic yet moderately effective, but I give it credit for exploring the family conflict while delving into the supernatural aspects and the location shooting added a bit. Picturesque locations contributed a bit. Not that there is anything wrong copying more successful trends, this film just doesn't add enough originality of its own. I expected more from the cast. With Calzado and Santos (and yes she can turn in wonderful performances, armchair critics!) onboard with some good actors around, acceptable performances can be considered a let down from them. While Filipino horror films like Sukob, Feng Shui, and Pa-Siyam featured local Filipino superstitions, Ouija is happy to borrow trends, successful ones at that. Try those horror films before renting this. Those films can compete with the best the continent can offer. Horror fans and those looking for Filipino films could certainly pick better films than this.

Of the big movies in theaters this week like "Ratatouille" and "The Simpsons", I chose to watch this local horror flick first. Okay, so I am a sucker for these glossy local horror films. I really enjoyed watching "Feng Shui" and "Sukob" very much, and recommended them effusively to my friends at that time. Liked those clever little twists at the end for both these flicks. Although, I only realized recently that the twist of "Sukob" is quite similar to that of "Sigaw" (which is now in production in Hollywood as "The Echo") when I caught the latter film on TV.Now back to "Ouija". The 'spirit of the glass" story has been done very many times, hasn't it? This one, though, goes one bit further because the ghost can torment the victims even if they are already far away from the scene of the original séance. And furthermore, the ghost can torment separate victims simultaneously! This concept innovation led to a very entertaining scare-fest in the middle part of the film where three parallel ghost attacks were shown interlaced with each other. That was a great film editing achievement! I also liked the ending. Okay, there's a twist when you least expected it. I don't spend time in films like this to try to predict the twist. I want to enjoy the revelation. That is why when it came, I think that this twist was rather intelligent and logical. Nice touch.Now for the minuses. I think this film is replete with borrowed previously done Asian horror gimmicks. How many times can they rehash the dirty long-haired girl in white crawling with jerky movements (famously done in "Ringu")? Or the ghost girl appearing under the blanket where a frightened character was hiding (first seen in The Grudge")? Or will there always be a bathroom stall scene in these films??? Argghhh! I wish they would stick to more original scare tactics (which they had) than merely repeat classic scenes. These very familiar scenes diminish really the scare factor.Now for the actresses. I must say that the presence of superstar Judy Ann Santos is quite distracting (more distracting than Kris Aquino in "Feng Shui" and "Sukob"). It is so anti-type, that it seemed very artificial for her to portray a chain-smoking bitchy lawyer. Jolina Magdangal, on the other hand, underplays her quiet part quite effectively. Iza Calzado seems a bit out of place as a narcissistic hammy stage actress, providing some comic relief.Some very effective scary scenes (except for those obviously copied ones) with excellent editing, cinematography and music. And for me, a good ending. Good enough!

Actually, I wasn't expecting very much from Ouija. I thought it'd be a another plain Asian horror movie like One Missed Call and Bangkok Haunted. Surprsingly, I found myself quite entertained, the movie could be one of those great Asian horror just like Ring and A Tale of Two Sisters.At first the story doesn't seemed to be original, but there is much more too it than the "ouija board". Toppel Lee, the director, doesn't focus on the game itself, but on the after effects of it.The story does have some "Asian horror" clichés, such as the girl with the face covered with hair, but I guess that is just normal because that idea was brought by Ring and then adapted into almost all Asian horror movie like done in A Tale of Two Sisters.All I can give now is much praise for the movie. The storytelling is told beautifully with flawless shots. The musical score builds up to an excellent scare and terrifying moments along with that beautiful cinematography.The characters are not shallow. They are human, not just another character in a movie. Each character has their own story, though the movie does focus more around Judy Ann Santos and Jolina Magdangal, who I thought gave an excellent performance.The supporting cast of the movie does deliver. Desiree del Valle and Iza Calzado were excellent, as always. The great Anita Linda gives one of the best chilling performance I've seen even though her role is limited. The younger cast in the form of Rhian Ramos, Valerie Concepcion, Angela Ilagan and JC de Vera, also gives their best performances.Overall, Ouija is in the same level of Asian Horror Classics such as Ring, A Tale of Two Sisters and Kairo. The film will definitely deliver scare to you, I guarantee it!