With “Ouija,” audience won’t be acting scared

+Douglas+Smith%2C+Olivia+Cooke%2C+and+Ana+Coto+%28left+to+right%29+in+Ouija.

Raider Times photo / Universal Pictures

Douglas Smith, Olivia Cooke, and Ana Coto (left to right) in “Ouija”.

Terry Zhu, Raider Times staff

“Ouija,” a movie directed by Stiles White, follows the horror that the Ouija board unleashes upon Laine (played by Olivia Cooke) and her group of friends.

The movie creates fear in the audience and it keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. This movie is definitely one of the better horror movies that I have seen within the past five years.

The story follows Laine after her best friend, Debbie, commits suicide. Laine’s group consists of Pete (Debbie’s boyfriend), Sarah (Elaine’s sister), Trevor (Elaine’s boyfriend), and Isabelle (Elaine and Debbie’s friend). Together they uncover a story behind the Ouija board that, if left to grow, will unleash evil upon the world, so it becomes their job to stop it.

Through the Ouija board, they find out that Debbie, having played with the board by herself, opened up a passage to the “other” side, unleashing a dormant evil that was at peace — until now. Laine finds out that Debbie was actually possessed by the evil spirits and that they were the reason for her suicide. In order to uncover who the spirit is and its backstory, Laine has to dig around.

The group works to fight the spirit, and what they uncover is something no one saw coming.

One of the greatest elements of this movie is the scare aspect that the producers are able to create. They create suspenseful, high-tension situations that will keep the audience members cowering behind their neighbors. Many scenes have beautiful camera angles that will keep the audience guessing about what will happen next. Oh, and the jump-scares! The jump-scares are able to catch you when you least expect it.

One of the lesser elements in this movie is the acting and the portrayal of the characters. There aren’t any characters that are very relatable and they don’t seem genuinely scared by some of the action. They seem as if they are just confused by what’s happening and their screams don’t seem genuine.

Though I am sure the actors did their best they could with the conditions they were given, the acting seemed to take away from the experience.

I would recommend this movie for teens that are at least 13 years old, as younger kids would most definitely be scared by this movie. Teens should be mature enough to handle the horror in this movie — though they may be a little scared as well.

If you want to go see a good horror movie, this one is definitely the best that is going to be coming out. Though if you have a weak heart, I wouldn’t go to this movie.

–Oct. 24, 2014–