The house is not always winning. When the American inventor Elijah Bond conceived to release on the shelves of the game called "Ouijah", he did not expect that in principle harmless venture eventually turn into an ode to real mysticism. The lacquered board with the alphabet and removable pointers did not last long as a fun for children, falling into the attention of spiritualists and occultists who saw in the "Widge" an opportunity to establish close contact with guests from the other world. And yet, despite the fact that the invention of Bond lost its original roots, it continued to be sold successfully, since no law prohibited the production of boards on the factory stream, and therefore they could be sold in any store. It is quite natural that not every person who planned to call ghosts and spirits to talk, achieved the desired, but the rumor about the magical possibilities of “Ouiji” quickly spread around the world, causing an intrigued mystical possibilities board audience genuine excitement. “Ouija” was repeatedly present in many horror films as an auxiliary instrument, without it was not done even in the debut film of the cult franchise “Paranormal phenomenon”. And then it was adopted by producer Michael Bay, who released the rental may not be the most worthy, but remarkable and box office dilogy “Ouija: Devil’s Board”, after which sales of the legacy of Elijah Bond increased several times. I couldn’t help but pay attention to the achievement of Bay’s films and professional cameraman Ben Demari, who is also trying himself as a director. Putting frankly passing, if not terrifying for its artistic merits film “Hansel vs. Gretel”, Demary decided to tell the world his story associated with the board “Ouija”, but as you would expect from the Director, working mainly for dubious studios and producing projects with a frankly low budget, the so-called “House of Widge” was a real disappointment, which should not be remembered at all. The desire to play on what the audience likes was not supported by Demari anything significant, from which his film almost immediately after the premiere dissolved in the genre stream. And even the participation of Misha Barton and Tara Reed did not help him, who in the later years of their career do not refuse any offers to shoot.
So, the plot of the film introduces us to a student named Laurie (Carly Schroeder), who is engaged in the study of demonology, mysticism and mythology, intending to write on the basis of their research a rather serious scientific work. Looking for suitable locations in order to fill his research with quite real facts, Lori is going to visit the mansion of his deceased aunt, because according to urban legends, ghosts and otherworldly creatures live there, which means that you will not be bored there. And despite all the warnings of the mother that you should not go to those dangerous places, the girl still goes in search of the unimaginable, not forgetting to take with him a company of comrades, brightening up a long trip. Once inside the building, young people realize that once there could really be all sorts of mystical rituals, which means that the research clearly acquires an intriguing character. But the serene search for the irrational ends the moment the guys find the very board “Ouija”, deciding to play a game with ghosts. No one expected children's fairy tales to come to life, but that's what happens. Awakened from hibernation, the sinister force begins its sadistic game, gradually driving the characters crazy, and the answer to all the disturbing questions, as you should guess, must be sought in the family past of Lori, because her aunt was far from simple woman, she had many secrets, including flirting with magic. And where the supernatural has manifested itself at least once, it is necessary to behave extremely carefully and anticipate the actions of an invisible opponent in advance. It is a pity that Laurie and her friends do not manage to interest us with their story to the fullest extent, because we have to deal with a frankly banal story, which, at all desire, can not frighten.
From the film Ben Demery blows a frank tracing with other similar pictures, and no one even thinks about how to somehow conspire frank borrowing and theft of ideas. This could be forgiven if the “House of Ouija” is really scary or at least intriguing work, but this mystical story does not have the merits of diligent horror, detachedly running around the screen and in fact nothing really intriguing to the viewer without catching. Ben Demary shot the picture as if from a textbook, acting without fiction and resourcefulness, from which the “House of Ouigi” does not look openly ruined by the project, and nevertheless it is difficult to find in it at least something that you can cling to. Wandering through the rooms and corridors of the building, the heroes frankly miss, as they cannot find something to their liking. The narrative proceeds slowly, sometimes too slowly, from which you begin to get terribly tired. Not particularly happy and family secrets, which begin to gradually reveal, as nothing striking in them is not, and if you look at at at least one mystical horror with such introductory data, the plot of “House of Ouija” can easily predict almost to the very end. The only thing that evokes a semblance of intrigue is a part of the action that unfolds in the past and tells about the youth of Lori’s aunt and mother, when black and white magic clashed in a deadly confrontation, and we were shown who in this film should expect trouble. In all the rest, it is vain to look for a special meaning, and from the Ouija board at one point they created a disgrace, which is not worthy of the title of a game capable of evocating beings from other worlds.
To attract a mass audience to his picture, Ben Demery managed to get at his disposal Misha Barton and Tara Reed, behind whom there were at least a few very good pictures, but now their participation in this or that project suggests that the film must be treated with special suspicion, because the actresses have long lost their high status, losing prestige behind the whole list of openly passable works. And, in truth, Barton and Reid's involvement is totally unwarranted. This is especially true of Reed, who appeared on the screen for a rather short time and, in fact, did nothing special. The only joy from her participation will be only for loyal fans of the actress, of whom there are fewer and fewer. Barton proved herself somewhat better, although her efforts can hardly be called something outstanding in the film, where there is simply nothing unique and fascinating.
In the end, I want to say that “House of Ouija”, this is a mediocre and far from mandatory production, overlooking which you will not lose anything. So if you want to watch a film about a mystical board, it is better to choose some other option.
4 out of 10