OUIJA FILM REVIEW 2014
Hello beautiful people, So my next review, which is actually going to be on time for once is for the latest horror film 'Ouija' 2014 directed by Stiles White. My best friend Robyn and I are definitely horror film fans if you haven't already realised, so we were pretty excited by the amount of horrors that were out recently due to Halloween. On Halloween we decided to make a deal that we would go and see every single one and I will be most definitely reviewing all of them. The next on our list will be 'The Babadook', but for now on with my review of 'Ouija'.
For people who haven't seen the film yet or who have never heard of it, I'll give you a brief synopsis. A teenagers fascination with the spirit world turns sour, when she connects with a malicious spirit through the Ouija board, which ends with her death. Her devastated best friend Laine Morris played by actress Olivia Cooke, senses that something is not right and goes on a mission to find out the truth behind what has really happened to her best friend. Dragging the rest of her friendship group along, she decided the only way to find out the truth is to connect with the spirit of her dead friend Debbie for answers. Things don't really turn out as planned for Laine and her friends who accidentally contact an evil spirit instead.
I don't even know where to start, this film was completely jaw dropping and nerve- jangling that I couldn't keep my eye off the screen, no matter how terrifying it was.
So I'm constantly saying how horror films are so predictable and they all seem to use the same tricks bla bla bla. For all the horror directors out there 'be original', this applies to all directors Hollywood and not. When I'm watching a horror I need to be intrigued and completely engrossed in the story, not constantly sussing out what will happen next. This just makes me bored and the audience will loose complete interest in the story. I have to praise director of Ouija, Stiles White, because for the first time since the 2013 horror 'The Conjuring' I can honestly say that there wasn't a minute that I lost interest. The plot twist was fantastic and although I'm not going to give the story away for the people that want to see it, I will say this, It was totally unexpected and though-provoking.
The second scene of the film takes place in the house of Debbie, where she died. I found this scene to be quite sensitive and moving. Whilst Laine explore her friends room, we can see her slowly getting emotional over the loss of her best friend. I don't normally expect horror films to have these delicate moments so I was shocked by my emotional response towards this. I have to give credit to Olivia in this scene. Her acting was spot on and took on her reactions in a naturalistic and interesting way. Like I've said in my previous blog posts, the one thing that really irritates me is when actors feel the need to over express all their emotions. It's too dramatic and looks so unrealistic. As an actor its a process that needs to take place. Imagine how you would feel in this situation. The whole point of acting is to be believable. An actor shouldn't appear to be acting (although we know they obviously are). Olivia's character however, represented this perfectly. I even found my eyes welling up on a few occasions, but especially in this scene.
The film was constantly filled with jumpy moments. When I watch a horror I can usually distinguish between a genuine fighting moment and trick, by the type of music and the situation. Ouija, however, was completely different and I really couldn't tell what was going to happen, it was a complete surprise each time. At first I thought 'oh no somethings going to jump out' and it didn't and by the end I was so unsure that I resulted in watched the film through the button hole in coat, just in case.
I'm not normally a big baby when it comes to horrors, In fact the creepier and gorier the more fun, but I would definitely say this film had me shaking in my little boots.
The way I determine if a film is good is by what I hear when I leave the cinema. I find that if the audience have really enjoyed or been affected by the film they will almost always be chatting about it in detail when they're leaving. A director once told me "it's not just about creating a good piece of theatre, it's about giving the audience something that they will remember and talk about after when they leave. If they think, well that was nice and never mention a it again, then you haven't done your job successfully' (2013). I think this also applies to film. It's easy enough to create a piece of theatre of film that is 'nice' or 'entertaining' to watch, but if the director can create something that will affect the audience, by questioning it and remembering it after, then that's when they've really exceeded and done their job properly. As an actor I very strongly believe this and will always stick by this.
Overall, this ghostly horror exceeded itself war beyond my expectations and I would a 100 percent recommend you go and watch this. It's a big five stars from me!!!!
(Picture source: mstarz.com: 2014)
For people who haven't seen the film yet or who have never heard of it, I'll give you a brief synopsis. A teenagers fascination with the spirit world turns sour, when she connects with a malicious spirit through the Ouija board, which ends with her death. Her devastated best friend Laine Morris played by actress Olivia Cooke, senses that something is not right and goes on a mission to find out the truth behind what has really happened to her best friend. Dragging the rest of her friendship group along, she decided the only way to find out the truth is to connect with the spirit of her dead friend Debbie for answers. Things don't really turn out as planned for Laine and her friends who accidentally contact an evil spirit instead.
I don't even know where to start, this film was completely jaw dropping and nerve- jangling that I couldn't keep my eye off the screen, no matter how terrifying it was.
So I'm constantly saying how horror films are so predictable and they all seem to use the same tricks bla bla bla. For all the horror directors out there 'be original', this applies to all directors Hollywood and not. When I'm watching a horror I need to be intrigued and completely engrossed in the story, not constantly sussing out what will happen next. This just makes me bored and the audience will loose complete interest in the story. I have to praise director of Ouija, Stiles White, because for the first time since the 2013 horror 'The Conjuring' I can honestly say that there wasn't a minute that I lost interest. The plot twist was fantastic and although I'm not going to give the story away for the people that want to see it, I will say this, It was totally unexpected and though-provoking.
The second scene of the film takes place in the house of Debbie, where she died. I found this scene to be quite sensitive and moving. Whilst Laine explore her friends room, we can see her slowly getting emotional over the loss of her best friend. I don't normally expect horror films to have these delicate moments so I was shocked by my emotional response towards this. I have to give credit to Olivia in this scene. Her acting was spot on and took on her reactions in a naturalistic and interesting way. Like I've said in my previous blog posts, the one thing that really irritates me is when actors feel the need to over express all their emotions. It's too dramatic and looks so unrealistic. As an actor its a process that needs to take place. Imagine how you would feel in this situation. The whole point of acting is to be believable. An actor shouldn't appear to be acting (although we know they obviously are). Olivia's character however, represented this perfectly. I even found my eyes welling up on a few occasions, but especially in this scene.
The film was constantly filled with jumpy moments. When I watch a horror I can usually distinguish between a genuine fighting moment and trick, by the type of music and the situation. Ouija, however, was completely different and I really couldn't tell what was going to happen, it was a complete surprise each time. At first I thought 'oh no somethings going to jump out' and it didn't and by the end I was so unsure that I resulted in watched the film through the button hole in coat, just in case.
I'm not normally a big baby when it comes to horrors, In fact the creepier and gorier the more fun, but I would definitely say this film had me shaking in my little boots.
The way I determine if a film is good is by what I hear when I leave the cinema. I find that if the audience have really enjoyed or been affected by the film they will almost always be chatting about it in detail when they're leaving. A director once told me "it's not just about creating a good piece of theatre, it's about giving the audience something that they will remember and talk about after when they leave. If they think, well that was nice and never mention a it again, then you haven't done your job successfully' (2013). I think this also applies to film. It's easy enough to create a piece of theatre of film that is 'nice' or 'entertaining' to watch, but if the director can create something that will affect the audience, by questioning it and remembering it after, then that's when they've really exceeded and done their job properly. As an actor I very strongly believe this and will always stick by this.
Overall, this ghostly horror exceeded itself war beyond my expectations and I would a 100 percent recommend you go and watch this. It's a big five stars from me!!!!
(Picture source: mstarz.com: 2014)
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