Ouija - Keep Telling Yourself It's Just A Game Trailer

I am not absolutely sure that creating a film around a board game is the best idea.  Especially if the game is about the occult.  That is exactly what is going on in this year's film titled "Ouija."  Some of the board game centered films turn out to be benign and fun, while others aren't.

I remember in 1985 Tim Curry along with Eileen Brennan starring as Mrs. Peacock and Madeline Kahn as Mrs. White with Christopher Lloyd playing Professor Plum, Martin Mull as Colonel Mustard and Michael McKean as Mr. Green. Did I forget someone?  Oh yes, there was also Lesley Ann Warren playing Miss Scarlet in Hasbro's "Clue." The gimmick for this film was that the director, Jonathan Lynn, filmed three different endings that would show in different theaters across the country.

One of my favorite films that feature a board game as the center of the plot is the Joe Johnston adaptation of Chris Van .Allsburg's book "Jumanji"  The film starred the wacky Robin Williams, Kristin Dunst, Jonathan Hyde, and Bonnie Hunt. When the film came out in 1995, I saw it as a cute family film that challenged the imagination with some silly fun.

In 2005, Dax Shepard, Josh Hutcherson, and Kristen Stewart starred in another  Van .Allsburg book adaptation, "Zathura: A Space Adventure."  This one was also aimed at kids and was a fun space adventure that also centered around a board game. 

2009 found Eliza Dushku and Mike Vogel starring in the horror-thriller "Open Graves."  The film follows three friends as they visit Spain.  After obtaining a elegantly carved board game they meet another American tourist visiting the Iberian peninsula. They all set about to play the board game only to find that each person who is eliminated from the game start having accidents that lead to their deaths.  

2012 was the year Hasbro and director Peter Berg released their film version of the classic board game, "Battleship."  The big budget Science Fiction, visual effects driven film only made $65,422,625 domestically. The production budget was $209 million.  Worldwide the film made $303 million with $237.6 million coming in from foreign markets. However, it is the domestic ticket sales that the studios depend on to determine if a film is profitable or not.

Does anybody remember Captain Howdy from the "Exorcist?"  He is Regan's imaginary friend  who played Ouija with Regan before she succumbed to full possession. 

"Ouija" stars Olivia Cooke ("The Signal," "The Quiet Ones"), Ana Coto Daren Kagasoff ("The Secret Life of the American Teenager"), Bianca A. Santos, Douglas Smith ("Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters").

This is Stiles White's directorial debut.  However, he has been working with Stan Winston Studio as a special effects production coordinator since 1994 when he worked on the Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt film "Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles." Since then he has worked on a variety of films such as "The Relic," " Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,"  "Lake Placid," "The Sixth Sense," and "Galaxy Quest" to name a few. 

Stiles White and Juliet Snowden wrote the script for "Boogeyman."  In 2005, the pair worked on the Nicolas Cage Sci-Fi film "Knowing."  Then in 2012' they took an article by Leslie Gornstein titled "Jinx In a Box?" and turned it into a major motion horror flick aptly titled, "The Possession." The film starred Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick and the Jewish rapper Matthew Paul Miller better known as Matisyahu.

Here is the synopsis for "Ouija:"

In Ouija, a group of friends must confront their most terrifying fears when they awaken the dark powers of an ancient spirit board. Stiles White directs the supernatural thriller that is produced by Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller (The Purge, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th) alongside Blumhouse Productions' Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity and Insidious series, The Purge), Bennett Schneir (Battleship) and Hasbro. Juliet Snowden and Stiles White wrote the script for Ouija, and Universal will distribute the film worldwide.

In the trailer above,  Elaine (Cooke) invites her friend Debbie (Shelley Hennig) to go out, but Debbie declines and ends up dying in a freak "Final Destination" type of death.  Elaine recruits her friends to hold a seance in the house that Debbie died in.  She uses a Ouija (aka spirit board) board to call her friend's spirit from beyond the grave, but unleashes something malevolent instead.

Also appearing in "Ouija" is Blumhouse Productions alumni Lin Shaye from the "Insidious" movies.

"As friends we gather, hearts are true, spirits near we call to you."

"Ouija" is due out on October 24, 2014 just in time for Halloween.

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller

Year:  2014

Staring: Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto, Daren Kagasoff, Bianca A. Santos, Douglas Smith 

Director: Stiles White

Producer(s): Michael Bay, Jason Blum, Andrew Form, Bradley Fuller, Brian Goldner, Bennett Schneir

Writer: Stiles White, Juliet Snowden

Rating: Not Rated Yet

Running Time: 

Release Date: 10/24/2014

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Three independent films worth watching this 4th of July weekend.

Just because a film doesn't have a big budget doesn't mean it doesn't have big ideas or something to say.  Three films that I have seen in the last month have not only caught my attention but my imagination as well.

Chef - Comedy
First from Open Road Films is John Favreau's summer film "Chef.”  The film may not make tons of money, but it will make many people happy.  "Chef" is a story of one man's search for happiness and finding it at the most essential level: food, family, and personal self-worth.  "Chef" includes “Iron Man" alums Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson in supporting roles.  But the big stars along with Favreau are Emjay Anthony, John Leguizamo, and Sofia Vergara.  The MPAA gave "Chef" an R rating for language, and some suggestive male bonding references.  The film runs just under 2 hours and worth every minute.

The Rover - Crime Drama

Secondly, I recommend the Australian film from A24 studios titled "The Rover.”  A carefully paced film that loves wide-open spaces, and with a sense of turmoil that burns below the surface.  Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson star in a film that typifies Australian cinematic style with long periods of silence and then sudden bursts of violence that shatters the narrative and reminds the viewer that the world that we are wandering in. is a wilderness of pain and violence.  "The Rover" is a film about the search for humanity, civility and the safety of structure.  The film is violent and deserves its R rating, and runs about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

The Signal - Sci-Fi

Last, but not least is "The Signal" from the art house Focus films.  Director William Eubank takes us on a journey into the depths of conspiracies and into a world of interesting concepts.  Is it Alien contact, or is it something from "The Twilight Zone?"  That is the question "The Signal" asks.   The film stars Brenton Thwaites, Olivia Cooke and Laurence Fishburne star in this well-made stylish Science Fiction adventure.  "The Signal" is Science Fiction in its true form, unaltered by fantastical elements from fantasy or the horror genres.  If you don’t see “The Signal” in theaters, make sure that you catch it on Blu-ray or DVD. Rated PG-13 and runs 85 minutes.

Summer 2014 Independent Film | A Constantly Racing Mind

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Following The Signal Deep Into the Rabbit Hole

Thirty-two year-old writer, cinematographer, and director William Eubank ("Love") along with David Frigerio ("Wreckage") and Eubank's younger brother Carlyle Eubank, construct a Sci-Fi lover's cunning and surreal take on alien contact.  Both beautiful, and clever, "The Signal," does an excellent job of leading you further into the conspiracy and closer to the edge of your seat.  2014 is 25 year-old actor Brenton Thwaites' year.  In April, he starred with Karen Gillan in the horror film "Oculus" and had a small role as Prince Phillip in the Angelina Jolie's "Maleficent."  Later this year Thwaites stars in the long awaited adaptation of Lois Lowry's 1993 Newbery Medal award winner, "The Giver.”  In "The Signal," Thwaites plays Nic, a MIT student.  Laurence Fishburne ("The Matrix," "Event Horizon") takes on another risky role as Dr. Wallace Damon.  In supporting roles are Olivia Cooke ("The Quiet Ones") plays Haley, Nic's girlfriend, and Beau Knapp ("Super 8") is Nic and Haley's friend Jonah.  Nic and Jonah are MIT students driving Haley to California to deliver Haley to Caltech in Los Angeles.  

Nic has muscular dystrophy and needs to us crutches to walk, but Nic loves to run.  He loves the freedom of running, and director Eubanks beautifully starts his film with Nic jogging on a forest trail until he comes to a point where the way is blocked by a raging river.  He and Jonah are MIT students driving cross-country on their way to Caltech to help Nic's girlfriend Haley move before the next semester begins.  They're hackers who almost were expelled from MIT when the real hacker, who goes by the hacker name "Nomad," led the authorities in their direction.  While In a motel room, in the middle of the night, Nic and Jonah trace Nomad's IP address, his signal.  Only to have Haley's computer hacked by Nomad as a technological taunt.  Jonah is ready to take on Nomad, as they are only several hundred miles away, however, Nic is hesitant as he contemplates his girlfriend moving across country and knowing that his condition will worsen.  Although the film is only an hour and a half, director spends time in the first 15 to 20 minutes building character through flashbacks, short scenes of narrative building dialog, and views of the landscape that don't feel rushed but evenly paced.  However as we only get through know Haley and Jonah peripherally while focusing primarily on Nic. Olivia Cooke's Haley character is one dimensional and spends the last hour of the film in either a comatose state or in a state of semi consciousness.  The only real thing about Jonah that we learn is that he is extremely loyal. 

Although Nic is conflicted with the logical choice of not taking a risk and playing it safe by going straight through to Caltech, or to follow the signal which Jonah is sure will lead the to their hacker nemesis, he decides to track down Nomad and expose him for the MIT server hack.  Later that night, the three find themselves in front of a rundown shack off a dark dirt road in the middle of the Nevada desert.  Breaking all rules of common sense and one of the top five rules of horror films, they leave Haley in the car with the doors locked.  Jonah and Nic explore the seemingly empty house.  While searching the basement, the guys hear Haley's screams and Jonah runs up the stairs and Nic hobbles after him with his crutches, finding the car empty, and Haley gone.  Some chaotic shots and an image of Haley being tossed in the air as the scene cuts to black.

2.3.5.41

In contrast to the first 30 minutes, the second act is underground, sterile, and visually set against a slightly overexposed white background.  Nic, dazed, confused, and possibly drugged, is dressed in a hospital gown, and confined to a wheelchair is rolled into an interview room where he meets Dr. Wallace Damon (Fishburne).  In a thick padded hazmat suite, Damon questions Nic but offers no information.  Damon is cryptic and vague in his answers.  “Are you from Earth?”  Damon asks.  Nic who realizes that he can't feel his arms, asks Damon why.  Fishburne delivers the answer in a Kafka-esque manner, “Due to circumstances surrounding your condition, I’m afraid that our information is extremely limited.”  "The Signal" provides a new term to our UFO lexicon is Extraterrestrial Biological Entity or E.B.E.  The terms alien contagion, quarantine, and Damon's warning, "I can only you safe from them down here."  More importantly, in this supposedly high-tech research facility, Nic witnesses clocks stuck at 12:30, signs posted upside down, and Damon records the interview on a 1980's era cassette recorder.  Where is Jonah?  Damon's reply "We were unable to recover him," yet Nic converses with the disembodied voice of Jonah through the air-vents.  Nic also witnesses rooms splattered with blood, which the people in hazmat suits scrub down repeatedly.  While in an escape attempt, with the unconscious Haley in tow, Nic rounds a corner a strange experiment involving a cow.  Nobody other than Damon ever talk.  “Are you agitated?”

Laurence Fishburne is an accomplished actor whose roles range from a teenager caught up in the Vietnam War ("Apocalypse Now") to a murderous gang member in "Death Wish II.”  Fishburne's career shifted to Science Fiction in 1997 when he starred in Paul W. S. Anderson's Sci-Fi gothic horror film, "Event Horizon.”  He became a true household name in 1999 when he played the mystical, inspirational, and steadfast captain of the hovercraft Nebuchadnezzar in "The Matrix," "The Matrix Reloaded," and "The Matrix Revolutions."  In 2009, Fishburne played a bank robber in "Armored” and a mentally unbalanced alien planet castaway in "Predators," and a virologist for the CDC in "Contagion."  In 2013, he starred in the "The Colony," a film with some interesting but derivative post-apocalyptic ideas.  In "The Signal," Fishburne's Damon character is mysterious and leaves not only Nic confused, but agitated.  Nic and Damon have daily interrogations that leave Nic pissed on a daily basis.  When asked to match colored shapes Nic screams "...spectral colors of light are more important than their words.”  Or, infuriated by Damon's questions and lack of answers, Nic yells at Damon, "You are a relic protecting ruins."  Damon stays calm and nonplussed throughout the film.  Damon delivers his last line in the film in a familiar Morpheus-esque way.

"You have an extraordinary will to survive."

What keeps the audience from getting agitated with the twists and turns in the plot is Lin Shaye ("Insidious").  She plays a complete religious wacko who aid Nic and Haley.  She preaches to the two to "Take comfort in the thought that THEY are watching over us,” then turning her head upwards she gives an orgasmic vocalization.  When asked by Nic, who THEY are, she then strangely mutters something about "the coming hoards.”  Her demented character also tells the kids to "just push from the inside out!"  Her performance not only provides comic relief to what would be a very self-serious film, but also heightens the mystery of plot.

Eubank and company do an excellent job of combining their love of classic Sci-Fi tropes that brings themes of paranoia, identity, and of time and space, which also include elements from "The Bionic Man," "District Nine," "Dark Skies," and even the "Matrix.”  Composer Nima Fakhrara and cinematographer David Lanzenberg's visual choices of close-ups and medium shots give the characters and events a personal connection.  The sights and sound combine to present a visually stylish and musically relevant cinematic experience that reminds one to both versions of Stanislaw Lem's "Solaris.”  The special effects are top-notch in spite of tight budget constraints.  Brenton Thwaites shows us with each outing that he is capable of holding together not only a scene, but also a whole film.  His on-screen presence can be bold, but at time humorous and intimate.  Fishburne's performance, although quirky at times, lends weight to the offbeat conclusion to the film. 

"The Signal," although a low budget genre film, is conceptually and narratively solid.  Cinematically “The Signal” shoots for the stars but diverts strangely into the bizarre dimension of the “Twilight Zone."  Mainstream film critics won't care much for "The Signal," however; Science-Fiction fans will enjoy the familiarity and homage of certain archetypes.  Lawrence Fishburne will be the biggest draw, however, Brenton Thwaites is courageous with his performance, and that boldness is as intense as Fishburne’s stoicism.  "The Signal" is Science Fiction in its true form, unaltered by fantastical elements from fantasy or the horror genres.  If you don’t see “The Signal” in theaters, make sure that you catch it on Blu-ray or DVD.

Movie Data

Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller

Year:  2014

Staring: Brenton Thwaites, Olivia Cooke, Beau Knapp, Laurence Fishburne

Director: William Eubank

Producer(s): Tyler Davidson, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones

Writer: David Frigerio, Carlyle Eubank

Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 95 minutes

Release Date:  6/13/2014

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