'Ouija'

When I saw the trailer for "Ouija" back in late 2014, I could not wait to see this throwback film that looked fun, cheesy, '80s, and schlocky. Upon viewing the new Blu-ray release from Universal, I was sad to watch a gloomy horror film without an original idea in it. It's the first feature film from Hasbro Studios and, naturally, the Ouija board happens to be a Hasbro toy. Good marketing on their part.

One of the two things I liked about "Ouija" was the film's 10-minute opening sequence involving (SPOILER) the suicide of a character; I also enjoyed Olivia Cooke, a rising British actress from "Bates Motel." Both aren't enough to recommend the haunted board game movie where Laine (Cooke) and a cookie-cutter array of friends set out to learn the meaning behind their friend's grisly suicide. It all leads back to that Hasbro toy, with endless camera shots that zoom in and out on the game; I thought it wasn't even sold in stores anymore.

If there was a profound storyline in "Ouija" I'd share it, but the film owes mucho debt to the "Final Destination" series, bumping off its characters in inventive PG-13 ways and tries to make dental floss a new scary weapon.

The Ouija marketing continues with the Blu-ray's three four-minute special features, all of them touting the history and origin behind the game. It all starts with "The Spirit Board: An Evolution" and a discussion with an avid gamer shows that people are still obsessed with the mystical aspect of the Ouija. "Adapting the Fear" further examines the ties that the movie and the game have. The only real movie on-set featurette, "Icon of the Unknown," briefly talks to the actors, director, and set crew.

"Ouija"
Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack
www.universalhidef.com