While B. Alan Orange from MovieWeb is kind of vague on what the Magic 8 Ball from Blumhouse is going to be all about, there’s no doubt that it’s going to be something to do with predicting the future or perhaps something that’s going to be given a terror-driven plot that will become something of a cult classic if not an instant classic. Right at the outset some people are excited and others are holding their applause or their disdain as they wait for the other shoe to drop. Seriously, there have been movies made that were based on toys that just didn’t pan out at all, and then there are those that were mediocre and possibly worthy of being deemed okay. But not often has it been seen that movies based around toys and other such childish pursuits do all that well when it comes to the big screen. There are exceptions of course, but despite what anyone might think they’re kind of few and far between.
Germain Lussier from Gizmodo is actually taking a different tactic and using the 8 Ball’s purpose as a gimmick to describe just what some people might be thinking since Blumhouse is known for creating movies that are either highly entertaining, though it has on occasion turned out the occasional flop. Jem and the Holograms ring a bell? So far there’s a lot of expectation from some people and a lot of speculation from others since it happens that a movie about an Ouija board is something that people can believe is going to be terrifying due to the nature of the game, but the Magic 8 Ball isn’t typically used to channel spirits and doesn’t get associated with demons, so it’s still a wonder just what’s going to happen with this toy and how it’s going to be represented. In simple words the Magic 8 Ball is more like a modern-day genie while an Ouija board is treated like a movable portal to hell. Genies have, throughout time, been seen to be violent and dangerous as well, but the toy in question is still something that’s a lot more innocent than anything that’s been placed in the movies at this point. We’ve had dolls, games, puppets, and any other number of items that might be possessed or somehow come to life, but a Magic 8 Ball is something that seems pretty harmless when all is said and done.
It could be said that studio executives are reaching now and grasping hold of anything and everything that might have once been presented to them and was rejected out of hand, as this script was in the past. Or it could be said that there’s enough of the unknown within this story that it could be far more engaging and dynamic than anyone really understands. It’s optimism that holds up with some folks while others look askance at the idea of making a movie based around an object whose only real ability to predict anything comes from how hard and in which direction it’s being shaken. There are enough different ways to spin a story like this that would work, but a lot of them would undoubtedly be seen as hokey and unworthy of anything but a direct to DVD effort.
Stuart Heritage from The Guardian seems to think that any untapped potential of this movie exists solely because it’s never been successfully brought to the pubic eye before and it’s been tried twice before now. The horror angle of this movie, which is really the only one that could possibly work on any level, is such that it still needs to be done near perfect or at least in a way that people aren’t going to question the movie right then and there. So long as people are entertained and want to see a movie then their questions will typically wait until the credits start to roll, then audience members will go over what they liked, what they didn’t, and what didn’t make sense at all. So far the premise of working around a Magic 8 Ball as the main focus of a movie is what makes the least sense, but there’s a possibility that it could be utilized in a way that could make a decent horror movie, especially if certain rules are followed or at least observed. The probability that this movie will be something special and do well in theaters is kind of hard to predict given that it’s not a homicidal doll or puppet bent on teaching someone a lesson or committing wholesale slaughter. But it might be worth giving it a chance all the same.
It’s fair to say though that a lot of us might have never thought of looking at that single die floating in its blue fluid and thought that it would ever be turned into a movie.
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