Ouija (2014 film)

Ouija

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Stiles White
Produced by
Written by
Story by Stiles White
Based on Ouija
by Hasbro
Starring
Music by Anton Sanko
Cinematography David Emmerichs
Edited by Ken Blackwell
Production
company
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
  • October 24, 2014 (2014-10-24)
Running time
 89 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $5 million[2][3]
Box office $103.6 million[3]

Ouija is a 2014 American supernatural horror film directed by Stiles White in his directorial debut. It was written by Juliet Snowden and White, who previously together wrote The Possession.[4] Starring Olivia Cooke, Daren Kagasoff, Douglas Smith, and Bianca A. Santos, Ouija was released on October 24, 2014. The film was produced by Platinum Dunes, Blumhouse Productions and Hasbro. Despite receiving negative reviews, the film was a box office success, grossing over $103 million on a $5 million budget.

A sequel is set for release on October 21, 2016.[5]

Plot

Young Debbie Galardi (Claire Beale) and Laine Morris (Afra Sophia Tully) play with a Ouija board in a flashback, where Debbie tells Laine the rules of the board, the most important being not to play alone.

Years later, a visibly unnerved Debbie (Shelley Hennig) is shown tossing a Ouija board into a fire after saying "goodbye". She declines Laine's (Olivia Cooke) invitation to watch a school basketball match, preferring to be left alone, while also sharing a story about how she discovered a Ouija board in her home and used it. When she gets back inside, she finds that the Ouija board has mysteriously materialized back in her bed. Debbie is subsequently possessed and forced to commit suicide. Grieving over her death, Laine suspects that Debbie's suicide might have something to do with the Ouija board and decides to use it, enlisting the help of her boyfriend, Trevor (Daren Kagasoff), their waitress friend, Isabelle (Bianca Santos), and Laine's rebellious younger sister, Sarah (Ana Coto). Laine chooses to do the séance inside Debbie's house which she is temporarily babysitting while Debbie's parents are grieving elsewhere. The teens are joined by Debbie's boyfriend, Pete (Douglas Smith). The five contact a spirit with the initial "D", whom they assume is Debbie and who spells out "HI FRIEND" to them. After Laine and Pete exchange emotional goodbyes to Debbie, the lights turn off. Laine and Trevor discover the stove-top burner turning on by itself, while Pete is pushed to break a mirror by an unseen force. The five leave disturbed but happy that they have finally said goodbye to Debbie.

However, the five begin to feel haunted when they encounter "HI FRIEND" written in various places. During their second séance, the five are horrified when they find out that they have never contacted with Debbie, but instead with a spirit called "DZ", whom Debbie once contacted. She spells out "RUN" and "MOTHER'S COMING" on the board. Looking through the glass window on the planchette, Laine sees DZ (Sierra Heuermann) with her mouth sewn shut and a woman with black eyes and a gaping mouth (Claudia Katz) running towards her. The group decides to stop using the board. Through a series of video tapes, Laine finds out that Debbie had broken a cardinal rule in playing the Ouija board: never to play alone. She also discovers through the videos that Debbie found the board in her attic. The same night, Isabelle is killed when she becomes possessed while drawing a bath, is levitated into the air, and then dropped, smashing her head on the corner of the bathroom sink. Devastated and desperate for answers, Laine informs Trevor of Debbie's video diaries, but Trevor brushes Laine off out of anger. He tells Laine that "it's coming for all of us, so who's next?" With no one left to turn to, Laine enlists Pete's help to search the attic where Debbie found the Ouija board. The two discover several photos that point to the house's previous owner: a woman and her two daughters. One of the daughters, Doris Zander, disappeared in the house with her mother being the prime suspect, while the other, Paulina, was sent to a mental institution after killing her mother weeks later.

Meeting with Paulina (Lin Shaye), Laine learns that Paulina's mother conducted séances and had used Doris as a medium for the spirits to inhabit. However, she slowly went mad and killed Doris, but not before she sewed her mouth to stop the spirits from talking any further. To save her life, Laine must cut open the sewing in Doris, whose body is stored in a secret room in Debbie's house. Facing challenges from Doris' mother, Laine nevertheless manages to cut open the sewing, setting Doris' spirit free. However, when Pete is possessed and killed by Doris, Laine learns that Paulina has manipulated her into cutting the sewing as Paulina is secretly in league with Doris; the true danger is Doris, not her mother, who only wanted to prevent anyone from using the Ouija board. Doris' spirit is now entirely free.

Laine resorts to the advice of her grandmother, Nona (Vivis Colombetti), instead, who tells her that she must sever the ties she has made to Doris by burning her body and the Ouija board. She goes to Debbie's house with Sarah and Trevor, but Trevor is lured and drowned in the house pool by Doris. The two sisters are separated by Doris, and Sarah is almost killed until Laine resorts to playing the Ouija board alone to lure Doris into also playing it. She is about to be possessed by Doris, but Debbie's spirit appears to stop the possession. During the distraction, Sarah manages to throw Doris' body into the furnace, followed by Laine tossing the Ouija board into it, finally defeating Doris.

Back at home, Laine finds that the planchette has manifested back in her room. The film ends with Laine looking through the glass window in the planchette.

Cast

Production

Pre-production

The film was announced in May 2008 with Universal attached [10] At one point in 2011 Universal dropped out due to budgetary concerns.[11][12] Following this it was subsequently announced that the film would be produced at a lower budget [13] and Universal subsequently rejoined the project.[14]

Casting was announced in November and December 2013. [6][7][8][9]

Filming

Principal Photography

Principal photography began at mid-December 2013 and wrapped at the end of January 2014 in and around Highland Park, Los Angeles, CA.[15]

Re-shoots

Although shooting officially wrapped in January 2014,[7] poor test screenings resulted in reshoots occurring in June[16] which, according to Olivia Cooke, resulted in half the film being reshot. With the reshoots, Lin Shaye was added to the film to play a newly written character, Erin Moriarty's character was removed from the film entirely, and new plot points were added or changed entirely. The most notable of changes included the character of Doris Zander's physical appearance changing from that of a burnt looking girl to a rotting, decomposing girl with stitches in her mouth.[17]The setting for a mental asylum in the film coincidentally happened to be the same setting used on the MTV TV series Teen Wolf, which also stars Shelley Hennig.

Release

Universal released Ouija in the United States on October 24, 2014.[18] A tie-in novelization for the film by Katharine Turner was released on September 16, 2014.[19]

Box office

North America

In North America, the film was released to 2,858 theatres and earned $19,875,995[20] on its opening weekend (including its $911,000 gross on Thursday preview nights and $8.3 million on its opening day).[21][22][23] at an average of $7,000 per theatre, debuting at number one at the box office ahead of newly released John Wick ($14.2 million).[24] The film played 75% under-25 years old and 61% female on its opening weekend.[25]

Other territories

Ouija was released in five international markets and earned $1.3 million from 234 screens. The film went to number two in Malaysia ($545,000), number four in Taiwan ($331,000), number two in Singapore ($238,000) and also number four in Poland ($137,000).[26] In its second weekend the film earned $5.7 million from 1,166 screens in 19 territories for a two weekend international total of $7.7 million. It went to number one in the UK, Indonesia and the Philippines. In the UK, the film earned $2.2 million on its opening weekend, which is the second biggest opening weekend for a horror film in 2014 only behind Annabelle ($3.1 million). Ouija made a domestic total of $50,856,010 and $52,618,000overseas, for a worldwide total of $103,474,010[27]

Critical response

Ouija was panned by critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 7%, based on reviews from 74 critics, with an average score of 3.3/10. The site's consensus states: "Slowly, steadily, although no one seems to be moving it in that direction, the Ouija planchette points to NO."[28] Metacritic, another review aggregator, gave the film a weighted average score of 38 out of 100, based on reviews from 22 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[29] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a C grade.[30]

DVD release

Ouija was released in the US on DVD and Blu-ray on February 3, 2015.[31]

Novelization

The film was novelized by Katharine Turner. The novel was released on September 16, 2014.[19]

The plot of the novel differs from the movie in many notable ways, containing an additional flashback sequence at the beginning of the book which occurs two months before Debbie dies, giving a more in-depth backstory to the main characters. Laine's father has a larger role in the novel, snapping at Sarah after she tries to sneak out of the house. There is an additional scene in the novel after the group uses the Ouija board for a second time where Sarah and Laine have a heartfelt conversation at the dinner table. There are longer sequences with Laine's grandmother Nona as well.

The message "Hi friend" from Doris in the novel appears as "Hi frend". When Isabelle approaches her car after work, instead of finding "Hi friend" written in the condensation on the inside of her car, she finds a hand print.

The characters of Pete and Isabelle also die in different ways in the novel. Pete, after seeing Doris' spirit in his room and becoming possessed, slits his wrists with an X-ACTO knife. Isabelle, after being possessed by Doris, sits in her bathtub with a plugged-in hair dryer, electrocuting herself.

The finale of the novel differs greatly from the film. Sarah is not trapped in the altar room with Doris's spirit as in the film, but rather Laine crawls down the passageway into the altar to get Doris's body. While Laine is in the passageway, Sarah is left by the furnace with the Ouija board where Doris manipulates Sarah's arm and has it twist in unnatural positions while touching the planchette. Doris uses Sarah's arm to spell out "D-I-E-F-R-E-N-D" on the board. After throwing Doris' body into the furnace with the Ouija board, Doris appears in spirit form as a normal girl, where her mother joins her. The two hold hands and disappear. Laine suddenly notices Debbie's spirit in the room. She says "Hi friend" to Laine. Laine asks if she is dead, but Debbie tells her everything is okay. Debbie says goodbye to Laine, and Laine falls unconscious.

The epilogue to the novel mirrors the film, with Laine finding the planchette in her room.

Sequel

Main article: Ouija 2

Throughout January 2015, reports of a sequel were announced. In February 2015, it was confirmed the film was in development and had no release date; Jason Blum stated "We're a ways away ..."[32] In April 2015, it was announced that the sequel would be released on October 21, 2016. Mike Flanagan will direct and co-write the sequel with Jeff Howard (Oculus). The film will be produced by Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, Andrew Form, Jason Blum, Brian Goldner, and Stephen Davis. Annalise Basso and Kaylee Procter will star in the sequel.[33][34]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "OUIJA (15)". British Board of Film Classification. October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  2. ↑ Saba Hamedy (October 23, 2014). "'Ouija' likely to outspook Keanu Reeves' 'John Wick'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Ouija (2014)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  4. ↑ Kroll, Justin (16 July 2012). "U recruits pair to rewrite, helm ‘Ouija’". variety.com. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  5. ↑ Dave McNary. "Ouija 2 Release Date: Oct. 21 2016 - Variety". Variety. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Kit, Borys (6 December 2013). "'Bates Motel' Actress to Star in Universal's 'Ouija'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ford, Rebecca (11 December 2013). "Universal's 'Ouija' Adds 'The Fosters,' 'Red Widow' Actresses". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Daren Kagasoff Joins ‘Ouija’". deadline.com. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Matthew Settle Joins ‘Ouija’ Cast". deadline.com. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  10. ↑ Kit, Borys (28 May 2008). "Michael Bay conjures 'Ouija' movie". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  11. ↑ Lussier, Germain (23 August 2011). "Universal Says Goodbye To ‘Ouija’". slashfilm.com. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  12. ↑ Kit, Borys (24 August 2011). "Universal Scraps 'Ouija' Movie as Studios Eye Budgets Closely". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  13. ↑ "Hasbro CEO Says 'Ouija' Board Moves to "Yes"". bloody-disgusting.com. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  14. ↑ Kit, Borys (5 March 2012). "Hasbro's 'Ouija' Movie Returns to Universal, Set for 2013 Release". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  15. ↑ "Ouija (2014)". movielocationsandmore.blogspot.com. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  16. ↑ "New Ouija Trailer". facebook.com. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Olivia Cooke Ouija Bates Motel season 3 interview". collider.com. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Universal Dates Crimson Peak, Ouija, Pitch Perfect 2 and More!". comingsoon.net. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  19. 1 2 Amazon.com (September 16, 2014). "‘Ouija’ by Katharine Turner". Amazon. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Weekend Box Office: October 24-26, 2014". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  21. ↑ Anita Busch (October 24, 2014). "‘Ouija’ Box Office Starts With $911K, ‘John Wick’ $870K – B.O. Late Nights". Deadline.com. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  22. ↑ Anita Busch (October 26, 2014). "‘Ouija’ Says Yes To No. 1, ‘John Wick’ No. 2 With A Bullet, ‘St. Vincent,’ Superb Exit Polls – B.O. Weekend". Deadline.com. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  23. ↑ "author = Pamela McClintock". The Hollywood Reporter. October 26, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  24. ↑ Maane Khatchatourian (October 26, 2014). "‘Ouija’ Scares Up Box Office Win Ahead of Keanu Reeves’ ‘John Wick’". Variety. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  25. ↑ Scott Mendelson (October 26, 2014). "Box Office: 'Ouija' Summons $20M Weekend, Keanu Reeves' 'John Wick' Nabs $14M". Forbes. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  26. ↑ Nancy Tartaglione (October 26, 2014). "Int’l Box Office: ‘Annabelle’ Still A Doll With $26.5M Frame; ‘Fury’ Wages $11.2M; ‘Lucy’ Outmuscles ‘Hercules’ In China; ‘Guardians’ Warps To #3 On 2014 Global Hit List; More". Deadline.com. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  27. ↑ Nancy Tartaglione (November 2, 2014). "‘Turtles’, ‘Maze Runner’ Top Int’l Box Office; ‘Guardians’ Is 2014’s #2 Pic: Update". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Ouija (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  29. ↑ "Ouija Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  30. ↑ Pamela McClintock. "Box Office: 'Ouija' Spooks Keanu Reeves' 'John Wick' With $20M Debut". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  31. ↑ http://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/6964/ouija
  32. ↑ Donguines, Arvin (February 7, 2015). "'Ouija 2' Plot Spoilers, Rumors: Producer Jason Blum Talks Sequel Development". The Christian Post. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  33. ↑ Petski, Denise. "‘Ouija 2′ Set For October 2016; Jason Blum Back as Producer - Deadline". Deadline. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  34. ↑ Kroll, Justin (August 14, 2015). "'Ouija 2' Lands Director Mike Flanagan, Actress Annalise Basso". Variety.

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