Coverage and Exclusive Photos – Ouija Blu-ray Launch Event
Hollywood’s famous Boardner’s bar was transformed into Ouija Boardner’s last night as Universal Studios, the filmmakers, and genre tastemakers joined forces (including supernatural forces!) to celebrate the impending launch of the horror hit flick Ouija.
In the movie, following the sudden death of their dear friend Debbie, a group of teens finds an antique Ouija board in her room and tries to use it to say goodbye. Little do they know, they’ll soon be saying goodbye to each other as a malevolent entity uses the board as a portal into their mortal existence and picks them off one-by-one.
The night kicked off with a scavenger hunt on the streets of Hollywood as teams followed clues which ultimately led them back to the heavily carved wood doors of the famous watering hole (it’s not only one of the last places The Black Dahlia drank before meeting her ultimate doom, it’s also said to be haunted by a horde of restless spirits).
Once inside, the scavengers found Boardner’s transformed into a den of delights including an open bar, tasty treats – not the least of which was a huge cake decorated up as a Ouija board (and there was even a huge butcher’s knife to cut it with… glad everyone there was a fan of the movie!) – and a display of historic spirit boards dating back to the 1800s. The film’s historical advisor, Robert Murch, was on hand to lay hands on the planchette and give séance demonstrations. (We took part, but it seems we got an illiterate ghost who couldn’t spell… or is “znvjvnkjgifjgpob” a word?)
Speaking of words, we had a few with Jason Blum of Blumhouse, who said as its producer, he was thrilled to see such a great response to the film. The movie’s director, first-time feature helmer Stiles White, told us that aside from a lot less Tawny Kitaen, Ouija is different from all other talking board movies (such as the most famous one, Witchboard) because it was backed by Hasbro. (Although the Ouija board was popularized as a parlor game by William Fuld, and later Parker Brothers to whom he sold the trademark, Harbro didn’t own the patent and name until 1991.)
We also had a chat with one of the pretty young things who stars in the film, Bianca A. Santos. (Yes, as we mentioned above: It’s a bevy impossibly beautiful teens vs. the ugly underworld – as usual. However, we will concede that Ouija is one of the more entertaining and better-made PG-13’s in the canon.) Santos said she was thrilled to be a part of a horror movie that’s smarter than most – she loved the fact that the characters say and do things that are believable (under the circumstances!) and that there’s also a mystery at the heart of the story.
Be sure to look for the Ouija DVD and Blu-ray everywhere in February 3, 2015. Extras include “The Spirit Board: An Evolution”, “Adapting the Fear”, and “Icon of the Unknown.”
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