Review: â€˜Ouija’ a boring board-game adaptation badly played

Pronounced like “squeegee,� “Ouija� is a tie-in fright flick only a group of toy and movie executives could summon from around a conference table, a blah imitation of PG-13 haunted house movies like “Paranormal Activity� and “Insidious.�

Olivia Cooke stars as thoughtful high schooler Laine, whose Ouija-loving bestie Debbie (Shelley Hennig) mysteriously kills herself after private time with the spirit-calling board game.

Co-writer and director Stiles White keeps reminding us: Don’t play it alone! Don’t play it in a graveyard! (Duh.) Always say “Goodbye�!

A thousand dull scenes later, Laine, her boyfriend (Daren Kagasoff), sister (Ana Coto) and two pals (Bianca Santos, Douglas Smith) fatally investigate in Debbie’s big, creaky house with the old timey-looking board discovered in her attic. The ghost scenario that this boring, CW-ready, “Scooby-Doo� gang uncovers isn’t nearly as shocking as the blasé attitude they have toward friends dying off or that some know to call the game’s circular-windowed arrow a “planchette.�

Whether it’s a rule that people in board game adaptations have to read the instructions aloud, “Ouija� is only a mystery as a promotional tool. If you’re not scared, you won’t buy one. And if you are, why would you?

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“Ouija.�

MPAA rating: PG-13 for disturbing violent content, frightening horror images, thematic material.

Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Playing: In general release.