When I think of board games with movie franchise potential, there isn’t a lot of possibilities. Hungry Hungry Hippos might make for a short thrill ride of a film, but stuff like Dream Date and Stratego just have no material to work with. At the same time, who would have thought Clue would be such a successful adaptation? That’s why I’m not completely closed off to the idea of a movie inspired by the Ouija Board, brought to you by the good folks at Platinum Dunes and Universal.
That’s right, Michael Bay’s production company is adapting the Ouija Board into a movie, at least according to The Hollywood Reporter. Thankfully the article says this won’t be like Jumanji with the game coming to life. Instead it’ll be a film where an Ouija Board plays an important part. You know, like The Ring, or One Missed Call, or any of the slew of movies we’ve had lately where the dead use some device to communicate with and/or threaten the living.
It’s nice to see Michael Bay taking on something that isn’t a remake of an iconic horror figure, although I can’t imagine an Ouija Board inspired film being much of a hook. Writer David Berenbaum is also part of the project which could be cause for excitement or dread. This is the writer who brought us Elf (instant classic), The Spiderwick Chronicles (decent family adventure), Zoom (ugh!), and The Haunted Mansion (avoid like the plague!). None of those credentials really say this is a writer who can build a suspenseful horror flick. In fact, the only one that really steps into a darker supernatural area is the worst one of the bunch.
