The ouija board, pronounced ‘wee-ji’, is often mistakenly thought of as a mystic and mysterious was of talking to spirits. In reality the board was manufactured by the children’s games and toy brand Hasbro. Yes the same people who brought you G.I. Joe and Mr. Potato Head made this game.
Having said that, you should not take your young children to see Oiija – Origins of Evil. Mr. Potato Head does not make an appearance. They will be terrified.
Ouija is a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0–9, and the words ‘yes’ and ‘no’. It uses a small heart-shaped piece of wood called a planchette. Participants place their fingers on the planchette, and it is moved about the board to spell out messages from ‘beyond the grave’.
This film follows the story of a family who (no spoilers) mess around with one of these boards before discovering something a whole lot more sinister.
The buildup in this film is masterfully done. For once, I did care about what happened to this family as film took some time to develop the characters. Once the creepiness began, it was all over quite quickly and set up the pins for a new franchise.
While my plus one and I didn’t love the film, mainly for the ending, it did have plenty of truly terrifying moments that will have you jumping out of your seat. If you learnt nothing about messing around with creepy games after watching Jumanji and this film, then you can always get your own Ouija board from Hasbro’s website. Spooky.
– Tomas
Tomas Zagoda is a filmmaker, writer, coffee addict and tall person who does not play basketball. You can follow him @TomasZagoda
Ouija – Origins of Evil is in cinemas across Australia from 20 October 2016.
