Ouija: Origin of Evil

Perhaps the most shocking and surprising treat of the 2016 Halloween season is director Mike Flanagan's prequel tale "Ouija: Origin of Evil"- a skillfully crafted, tasteful and highly atmospheric follow- up to the disastrously bad 2014 thriller "Ouija." It's frankly stunning just how good a film Flanagan was able to build from such a poor foundation, weaving a tale that honestly not only runs laps around it's far inferior predecessor... but honestly made me completely forget about what came before. In my mind, "Ouija" will be a forgotten victim of studio greed, while this prequel will stand tall as the "true" film based on the iconic and controversial board-game of terror.

In the 1960's, widow Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) works as a fortune teller out of her home, staging false séances with the help of her teenage daughter Paulina (Annalise Basso) and younger child Doris. (Lulu Wilson) After purchasing a Ouija board as a new gimmick for her work, Alice does not notice that Doris has become overtaken by a deranged and mysterious force associated with the board, instead believing that her young daughter's newfound abilities and knowledge of things she could not possibly know are signs that unlike her, Doris is a real medium. However, as Doris' abilities become gradually all the more powerful and sinister, Alice and Paulina must band together to try and break her free from the devious spirits of the past that have taken ahold of her physical form...

Flanagan directs from a script co-written by Jeff Howard, and much like his wonderful previous efforts "Oculus" and "Hush", here he continues to shine as one of the finest new voices in horror. There's a certain sense of taste and thoughtfulness he injects into his work, as he takes his time to try and establish strong character and interpersonal relationships, in addition to identifiable human drama which helps to accentuate the fear that builds. He also just knows how to deliver a darned good scare- a skill he uses expertly throughout the entire runtime here to build a great sense of foreboding dread.

The performances are all stellar as well, helping to add to the film's high quality and impact. Elizabeth Reaser is fantastic as the mother Alice, and you really get a feel for a person lost after the death of their beloved spouse who is trying to hold it together for the sake of her children. Wilson is a great new Doris and does remarkably well for an actress of such a young age. Supporting roles by the likes of Henry Thomas are all uniformly strong and help to round out the cast in likable performances. And Annalise Basso steals the show as Paulina (also known as "Lina"), who becomes our main focus and is a strong presence on-screen. At only 17 years old, Basso is definitely one to keep an eye on in the future. She possesses talent far beyond her years, and is the beating heart of the film as a sister and daughter struggling to help her sibling and mother from the forces at play- both supernatural and emotional.

The film does falter at times a bit, which is where it loses points. Despite the first film being decidedly very poor by comparison, this film does a bit of distracting ret-con work that may bother those who are familiar with the original. Some major details of the backstory and rules are changed, which made it feel a bit inorganic as a continuation. It's also a bit too heavy on the scares up- front, which lessened their impact. I would have preferred more slow a buildup. And it does lack some drama since this is a prequel and you'll be able to guess some of what happens based on this fact.

Still, that cannot stop this from being a darned good and very well- assembled supernatural horror. It's not one of the best horror films ever made by any means, but it's a solid and highly entertaining thriller boasting some heart, some good scares and a great cast. This is the movie you've been waiting for if you've wanted to see a movie based around the idea of the dreaded Ouija board. My advice? Skip out on the first film and just watch this as a stand-alone. It's far more rewarding an experience than the awful original could ever hope to be.

I give "Ouija: Origin of Evil" a strong 8 out of 10. If you're open minded, be sure to give it a shot, especially if the last one let you down. Take it from me... this is a very pleasant surprise.

This is an solid, slow-burn, atmospheric horror movie; well-paced capped off with a thrilling third act. It very effectively combines a simple plot, and natural characterization, with good acting and direction. The result is a compelling story that is believeable and susupenseful.

At the end of the final act, I was thinking "high-fives all-around, good job guys" and was about to give this two thumbs up.

And then, inexplicably, in the last 5 minutes the filmmakers revert to cheesy B-horror cliches making for a jarring denoument that simply feels wrong.

WTF? Was that studio exec interference or just plain bad judgement? Nope. Because it's a prequel (to a movie I haven't seen yet), I guess it had to end with a bridge to the other movie. But it could have and should have been better, so the truth is, it's just bad writing. The last few minutes just don't match the tone or narrative arc of the first hour and a half, and it comes across feeling like a cheap add-on. Not a twist ("cool!"), or a surprise ("gotcha!") just lame ("seriously? Pffthtttt!") (That's the raspberry sound, BTW.)

This movie should have wrapped up nicely at 1:27:25. If it had: 8/10.

With the dopey last 4 and a half minutes added: 6/10.

PS - If you can, stop watching at 1:27:25 and just imagine a better CODA; e.g., Lana, the sensible one, getting on with her life as best she can, and the Ouija board washing up on some beach like in Jumanji.

Mike Flanagan just gets so close yet again, yet falls disappointingly short. Oculus is still his best work, and the promise that both Hush and this prequel to a PG-13 board game prequel show, is that if given the right opportunity he might really be capable of a cold-blooded classic.

This is a film that shouldn't exist, should never have gotten theatrical distribution and definitely shouldn't have attracted the likes of Flanagan (okay, he probably did this to increase his clout in the industry, but still). He musters some great work here, following familiar supernatural clichés but bringing his own touch to the proceedings.

The setting is beautiful, the characters likable and not completely square. The atmosphere is given time to build, he luxuriates in teasing and messing with audience expectations (as a way of spiting this, and goosing the audience lulled into a slow burn placation, he includes an explosive scene wherein the actual demon is seen shoving his fist down the little girl's throat. It's both too much and a necessary jolt at the time, a conundrum if ever there was one and a small encapsulation of everything right and wrong within this film).

It's too bad some of the nice work done in the first 2/3rds of the film is undone by a clichéd, boring, exorcism-lite finale. None of it is very scary, and it all has the feel of fitting into the "Ouija" franchise package, whatever in God's name that could mean. Considering the stakes here, what Flanagan does is still impressive.

It is a decent horror film, but surely better than the first. The previous part was an usual teen themed horror where everything started as a playful. But this one was a prequel and it focused on the origins. A single mother with two daughters is making money helping the people who want to contact their beloved dead ones. The things changes when her little daughter started to communicate the spirits of her own. The chaos unleashes, the house becomes haunted and the family begins to fall apart.

Keeping it simple is what worked out well for the film, despite thematically borrowed from others, scenes were kind of familiar and characters intentionally developed. Particularly the priest role was the most overused in any horror film. Followed by the twist. That turning point was good, but not a new. Nice performances and well shot film. Ouija is a fine concept for a horror theme and with this film's somewhat success, I hope the next one would only get better. So it is worth a watch, if you're not anticipating a something special.

6/10

It's 1967 Los Angeles. Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) runs a crooked spiritual reading business out of her home. She uses her daughters Lina (Annalise Basso) and younger Doris (Lulu Wilson) in operating her scams. They incorporate an Ouija board into their production. While trying to contact the girls' dead father, Doris seems to make real contact. Father Tom (Henry Thomas) is the headmaster of the girls' school. Mikey (Parker Mack) has a crush on Lina.

Surprise! This is actually good. It is well-made. The characters are well-drawn and well-acted. I wouldn't say that this is breaking down any new walls but there is good in doing good work. I do have a couple of small nitpicks. For some reason, Alice and Father Tom go out for what looks like a fancy dinner. It almost looks like a date if it weren't for the characters. Second, I would keep the possibility that Doris is scamming everyone until further into the movie. It would be nice to have Father Tom uncover the whole situation as a reveal. The good are the actors, the mood, the simple premise, and good construction. It's a shocker that this is all pretty good.