There are certain things you should never do in a horror movie. Go into the basement when the lights go out. Investigate a noise that sounds suspiciously like someone being murdered. Move into a farmhouse where the previous occupants apparently left in a hurry. And if you find an old Ouija board, for Christ's sake, don't start asking it questions.
Nothing good has ever come from contacting the dead, particularly when the living aren't all that interesting to begin with. Naturally, the family in Ouija Hell House ignores every bit of this advice. Director Calvin Morie McCarthy gets things off to a surprisingly effective start, establishing an atmosphere of unease that suggests we might be in for something a little more interesting than another bargain-basement supernatural thriller. The opening works, drawing us into the story without immediately throwing every horror cliché at the screen. Unfortunately, the film eventually runs out of ways to capitalize on that early promise.
The story follows a single mother who moves her daughters into her late grandmother's isolated farmhouse, hoping for a fresh start. Naturally, they discover an old Ouija board, because apparently nobody in horror movies has ever seen another horror movie. Before long, strange things begin happening, and the family's new home becomes considerably less welcoming. McCarthy understands the appeal of the setup, and to his credit, the pacing is good. At 77 minutes, the film avoids the endless stretches of filler that plague so many independent horror productions. There's a welcome economy to the storytelling, even when the story itself isn't offering much we haven't seen before.
Where Ouija Hell House begins to stumble is in its ability to sustain the tension it establishes so effectively at the beginning. The supernatural developments become increasingly familiar, and the scares don't always land with the force they should. There's a difference between creating an unsettling atmosphere and actually delivering on it, and McCarthy doesn't consistently manage the transition. Some of the dialogue could use another pass, and the characters occasionally behave as though common sense were the first casualty of their paranormal predicament. The problem isn't a lack of effort or even imagination, but a reliance on familiar genre conventions when the film could have taken its promising setup somewhere considerably more disturbing.
Ultimately, Ouija Hell House isn't a total disappointment, which is more than I can say for plenty of low-budget horror films that arrive with considerably more ambition than ability. McCarthy demonstrates that he knows how to establish an appropriately creepy mood, and there are moments when the film hints at something genuinely unnerving. What he hasn't quite figured out is how to turn those moments into a consistently satisfying horror experience. It's a modest effort with some genuine strengths and a few missed opportunities, worth a look for fans of supernatural horror who don't demand that every ghost story reinvent the genre.
Just remember, if you find an old Ouija board in your new house, throw the damn thing away. Preferably before the opening credits finish.
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Runtime:
Director: Calvin Morie McCarthy
Writer:
Cast: Jason Brooks; Tim Coyle; Laura Hunter
Genre: Horror
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote: "I'm here with your grocery delivery"
Distributor: 7th Street Productions
Official Site:
Release Date: Now showing
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: A single mother moves her daughters into her late grandmother's farmhouse, hoping for a fresh start. After finding an old Ouija board, strange events begin to escalate, and a presence emerges that won't let them leave.
