Ouija (2007 film)

Ouija is a 2007 Filipino horror-thriller film from director Topel Lee, his paranormal first feature-length,[1] from the screenplay by Aloy Adlawan. The film stars Jolina Magdangal, Iza Calzado, Rhian Ramos and Judy Ann Santos haunted by a spirit they accidentally unleashed while playing an Ouija board.

Ouija
Theatrical poster
Directed byTopel Lee
Produced by
  • Vic del Rosario Jr.
  • Annette Gozon-Abrogar
Written byAloy Adlawan
Starring
Music byCarmina Robles Cuya
CinematographyNeil Daza
Edited byMarya Ignacio
Production
company
Release date
  • July 25, 2007 (2007-07-25)
Running time
137 minutes
CountryPhilippines
LanguageFilipino
Box office₱120.6 million

This is the second film co-produced by GMA Films and VIVA Films years after VIVA withdrew from GMA. The joint production between the two companies was proven a success since fans believe that there is still chemistry among the two companies and it led to more jointly produced movies that became box-office hits.

Plot

Half-sisters Aileen (Judy Ann Santos) and Romina (Jolina Magdangal), along with first cousins Sandra (Iza Calzado) and Ruth (Rhian Ramos), reunite in Camiguin to bury their grandmother. Accompanied by Sandra's friend, Lucy (Desiree Del Valle), the five girls dare to call on the spirits of the dead when they find their old Ouija board from when they were kids. The Ouija board is burned by accident before they are able to finish the ritual, trapping a murderous entity around them. As they begin to realize the terror that they have brought upon themselves, Aileen and Romina's hostile relationship becomes even more strained, while Lucy's sanity brings a heavy burden on Sandra, and Ruth's boyfriend, Gino (JC De Vera), is unknowingly pulled into the danger and horror that awaits all of them. Aileen, a criminal advocate, accidentally kills a rape victim who was also haunted.

Confronted by imminent death, the girls have nowhere to go unless they can identify the spirit and find out where it is buried. It is only by leading the spirit to its burial ground that they will be able to release the spirit from the Ouija board and survive its fatal hauntings.

Using the Ouija board, the girls find that the ghost of a girl named Magda the Snake (she is called “The Snake” because she had the skin of snake at birth) is haunting them. They find the dead body of Magda from under the sea and made the spirit free with the help of a Christian priest. Magda was murdered by her envious twin sister Melda, because their parents loved Magda more. At the end it is revealed that it was Melda's spirit who haunted the girls and Magda's spirit was trying to protect them. Since they freed Magda's spirit, there is no one to protect them from Melda. At the end of the movie, Melda has killed every girl.

Cast

Main

Supporting

Special guests

Reception

The movie is graded A by the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) of the Philippines. An A rating gives the film a 100% tax rebate on its earnings.

Awards and nominations

26th FAP (LUNA) Awards (2008)

  • Best Editing - Marya Ignacio
  • Best Musical Score - Carmina Robles (won)
  • Best Sound - Ditoy Aguila (won)

10th PASADO Awards (2008)[2]

24th PMPC Awards for Movies (2008)[3]

  • Movie of the Year - GMA Films
  • Movie Director of the Year - Topel Lee
  • Movie Supporting Actress of the Year - Iza Calzado
  • New Movie Actress of the Year - Rhian Ramos
  • Movie Original Screenplay of the Year - Aloy Adlawan
  • Movie Cinematographer of the Year - Neil Daza
  • Movie Editor of the Year - Marya Ignacio
  • Movie Production Designer of the Year - Mark Sabas
  • Movie Musical Scorer of the Year - Carmina Robles Cuya
  • Movie Sound Engineer of the Year - Ditoy Aguila and Rudy Gonzales (won)

5th Golden Screen Awards (2008)[4]

  • Breakthrough Performance by an Actress - Rhian Ramos (won)
  • Best Visual Effects - Ignite Media

International screenings

The movie would have been the first GMA Films movie to have international screenings[5] and the second Viva movie to have international screenings. The scheduled overseas premieres in four U.S. cities (Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego) were cancelled. Only the one in New Jersey pushed through.[6] The movie is titled Seance internationally.[5]

Home video release

GMA Records Home Video (distributed under license by Viva Video, Inc.) released Ouija now available on DVD and VCD format on September 12, 2007.

See also

References
  1. Judy Ann-Jolina movie finally pushes through, gmanews.tv, n.d. Accessed last April 7, 2007.
  2. "Judy Ann Santos and Joel Torre win top acting honors at 10th Gawad Pasado". Archived from the original on 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  3. PMPC announces nominees for the 24th Star Awards for Movies
  4. Indie films once again rule 5th Golden Screen Awards nominations
  5. Ouija to be released internationally under the title Seance, pep.ph, n.d. Accessed last April 15, 2007.
  6. , pep.ph, n.d. Accessed last October 24, 2007.
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