Ouija (film)

Ouija
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Topel Lee
Produced by	Jose Mari Abacan Veronique Del Rosario-Corpus Vicente G. del Rosario III
Written by	Aloy Adlawan
Starring	Jolina Magdangal Iza Calzado Rhian Ramos and Judy Ann Santos
Music by	Carmina Robles Cuya
Cinematography	Neil Daza
Editing by	Marya Ignacio
Distributed by	GMA Films VIVA Entertainment Films
Release date(s)	July 225, 2007 (2007-07-225)
Running time	137 min.
Country	Philippines
Language	Filipino/Tagalog English
Budget	Php32.7 million
Box office	Php189,050,000

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

This is the second film co-produced by GMA Films & 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 and Romina, along with first cousins Ruth and Sandra, reunite in Camiguin to bury their grandmother. Accompanied by Sandra’s friend, Lucy, 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 become even more strained, while Lucy’s sanity brings a heavy burden on Sandra, and Ruth’s boyfriend, Gino, is unknowingly pulled into the danger and horror that await all of them.

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.

Cast

• Judy Ann Santos - Aileen
• Jolina Magdangal - Romina
• Iza Calzado - Sandra
• Rhian Ramos - Ruth
• Desiree Del Valle - Lucy
• JC de Vera - Gino
• Jackie Lou Blanco - Racquel
• Ruby Rodriguez -Yaya
• Perla Bautista - Lagring
• Anita Linda - Lola Corazon
• Valerie Concepcion - Rape victim
• Paolo Serrano as Jake
• Angelo Ilagan - Nilo
• Nanding Josef - Mario

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)^[2]

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

10th PASADO Awards (2008)^[3]

• Best Actress - Judy Ann Santos (won)
• Best Original Screenplay - Aloy Adlawan (won)
• Best Sound - Ditoy Aguila (won)

24th PMPC Awards for Movies (2008)^[4]

• 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)^[5]

• 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^[6] 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.^[7] The movie is titled Seance internationally.^[6]

References

1. ^ Judy Ann-Jolina movie finally pushes through, gmanews.tv, n.d. Accessed last April 7, 2007.
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ Judy Ann Santos and Joel Torre win top acting honors at 10th Gawad Pasado
4. ^ PMPC announces nominees for the 24th Star Awards for Movies
5. ^ Indie films once again rule 5th Golden Screen Awards nominations
6. ^ ^{a b} Ouija to be released internationally under the title Seance, pep.ph, n.d. Accessed last April 15, 2007.
7. ^ [2], pep.ph, n.d. Accessed last October 24, 2007.

External links

• Ouija at the Internet Movie Database