Sonic Cinema

Sounds, Visions and Insights by Brian Skutle

Ouija: Origin of Evil

Grade : B+ Year : 2016 Director : Mike Flanagan Running Time : 1hr 39min Genre : ,
Movie review score
B+

I honestly never expected to watch this sequel to the 2014 horror film based on the famous spooky board game, mainly because I never saw the first film produced by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes genre production company. However, my wife had an errand to do at another theatre, and she suggested a scary movie for us. Who am I to argue, especially considering it’s hard enough as it is to get her to watch a horror movie? I had heard positive things about the original film, but still went into this with low expectations. Color me surprised, then, that “Origin of Evil” is not a bad genre effort, and holds up well against like-minded films in the category.

I’m not quite sure what brought upon a return to supernatural/possession thrillers as the “go to” subgenre of things that go bump in the night, but I’m, quite frankly, grateful. From the “Insidious” and “Conjuring” franchises to “Paranormal Activity” and a run of exorcism thrillers, it’s nice to see that the slasher mold of “Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Friday the 13th” has given way to offerings where character and story mean more than blood and guts. (I’m guessing the endless “Saw” franchise might have had a hand in that subgenre’s demise.) Given the game’s prevalence in previous horror films over the years (“Paranormal Activity” has one of the best remembered instances, by me), how can a feature film inspired directly by the game work? I don’t know how the first one did, but co-writer/director Mike Flanagan makes this work by establishing the horror premise first, then introducing the game into the equation. I’m impressed by the results.

The film starts with a seance taking place in 1965 Los Angeles. An old man and his daughter have come to a fortune teller (Alice Zander, played by Elizabeth Reaser) trying to get in touch with his deceased wife. The daughter is skeptical, but Alice knows her stuff when it comes to grabbing a client’s attention. It works a little too well and the man almost has a heart attack, which causes Alice to give him the session for free, but that’s not going to pay the bills for her and her daughters, Lina (Annalise Basso) and Doris (Lulu Wilson). Later that night, Lina sneaks out and plays with a Ouija board with some friends. When Alice comes to get her after discovering she sneaked out, she chides her for using the board, but also is curious to add it to her business. Doris seems particularly drawn to it, however, and not long after, the family will get an unsettling glimpse at the spiritual world that they never saw coming.

The film follows a relatively predictable pattern when it comes to supernatural horror, even having Lina and Doris attending a Catholic school so we can get a priest (played by Henry Thomas) involved in the narrative. At this point, though, originality takes a backseat to the skill in which the writers, directors and behind-the-scene teams bring the scenario to life, and how the actors sell the reality of the film. Here, they largely succeed, and provide some interesting “jump scares” and a compelling backstory for the haunting taking place. I did not see the revelations of the third act coming, and props to Flanagan and his cast for holding my interest up until then, and then leaving us at an interesting place by the time the credits roll. If you’re a fan of the genre, and good scary films in the month of October, you can’t really go wrong with this one.

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