[four-star-rating]Elizabeth Reaser, Annalise Basso, Lulu Wilson, Henry Thomas, Parker Mack[/four-star-rating]
Looking for something to go bump in the night? Look no further.
The first Ouija film was pretty terrible. So it’s amazing how much this prequel repairs. This demon possession flick may not be the next Exorcist, but for those old-fashioned Halloween shivers, this’ll definitely do!
Don’t do Ouija alone, don’t do it in a graveyard, and always say good-bye. Yes, all three of those dire rules are going to get broken before the end of this tragic tale!
Fleshed-out characters, plucky acting, a sense of humor, tight direction, and fantastic 1960s art direction all make Origin of Evil a rarity – a horror film worth recommending.
Reaser plays Alice Zander, a desperate ‘60s mom trying to raise her two daughters. A drunk driver recently killed Alice’s husband. Alice struggles to makes ends meet by running a shady fortune telling business. Children Lina (Basso) and Doris (Wilson) help Mom out.
“Our little scam,” rebellious teen Lina calls it.
“We’re giving people comfort,” counters Alice.
“The act’s getting stale,” replies Lina.
So, to that end, Mom buys an Ouija board, wondering if it’ll help drum up more business.
Coincidentally, the fortune telling and Ouija board are both odd choices. Alice sends her kids to a Catholic school. And the local priest (Thomas of E.T. fame) counsels the girls. Good thing that the Zanders know the Father. The Zander women’s lives are going to quickly go from bad to worse.
Truthfully, there aren’t any original scares in Origin of Evil. I sensed the timing so thoroughly. However, it was entertaining! I waited in gleeful anticipation every time the camera paused. And when there was dark over a character’s shoulder, I squinted to spot bogeymen who would emerge from the shadows.
Even the script is aware of its unoriginality.
“I think the worst thing we could do right now is split up,” says one of the girls just as her mother is about to suggest the very thing.
Still, Ouija 2 avoids some of the staler traps of demon films. It doesn’t pedal Catholicism like a propaganda flick. It also doesn’t follow the tropes that bad characters die first. In fact, though many of the scare scenes are also tragic, there isn’t a lot of blood and gore here.
The script presents well-drawn characters. (Even though more memorable, more driven personalities would’ve made this even crazier.) The films spends a good time getting to know the Zander family before it devolves somewhat into elaborate ridiculousness in the last 20 minutes.
[rating-key]
Coincidentally, director Mike Flanagan also directed the strong horror thrillers Hush, Absensia, and Oculus. Flanagan co-wrote this script with actor Jeffrey Howard (who also wrote Oculus.) Except for this year’s abysmal Before I Wake, this team has a pretty tight track record with gore-light, dread-filled horror.
Ouija: Origin of Evil doesn’t really have any competition at the cineplexes this Halloween. Even if it did, it’d be hard for another horror flick to out-scare this one.
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