Ouija

Death via dental floss is a first. But everything else about this contrived seance-gone-wrong saga is strictly by the bloodless horror handbook. After Battleship and GI Joe, Ouija is the latest tween-skewed spin-off from one of Hasbro's intellectual properties. It sees close friends uncovering the demonic powers of the titular board game after summoning up the spirit of a recently deceased suicide victim. And they soon reach the conclusion that something made contact with the unfortunate from beyond the grave, and is now haunting them, too. Writer Stiles White (Boogeyman, The Possession) makes his feature-directing debut a ponderous slog through suspense-free exposition, telegraphed scares, toothless menace and mechanical jolts with this tedious body-counter barely held in place by the flat-pack plot. Lead actress Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel) is the one saving grace among the bevy of bland TV stars where the age-old seance question "Is anybody there?" can equally be aimed at those behind the camera.