Ouija: Origin of Evil takes us back to 1964 to witness the events that led to the ghostly killings of the first film. We meet what’s left of the Zander family, mom Alice (Elizabeth Reaser), eldest daughter Paulina (Annalise Basso) and youngest daughter, Doris (Lulu Wilson). The death of Alice’s husband has left a hole of despair in all three girls, and they try to get by however they can, making what money they can as phony fortune tellers.
However, when Alice decides to add a Ouija board to her act, she inadvertently gives Doris a channel for her grief, since the young girl believes that the board can actually bring her dead father back to her. When Doris shockingly begins to display an actual connection with the dead, Alice has hope that their longtime con can evolve into something better. But reaching out to the dead also allows the dead to grab back, and they grab hold of Doris hard, unleashing dark forces all over the Zander household.
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Directed by Oculus filmmaker Mike Flanagan, Ouija: Origin of Evil should be a bargain bin sequel to a much-maligned horror movie, which was adapted from a silly board game. However, in Flanagan’s capable hands Ouija: Origin of Evil overcomes all of the obstacles mentioned, in order to offer horror fans the rare prequel/sequel that’s better than the original.
Flanagan and his Oculus co-writer James Howard start at a great disadvantage, script-wise, in that the original Ouija pretty much laid out every beat of the origin story. That forces the filmmakers into a pretty narrow lane, having to serve up each beat as previously described; however, Flanagan and Howard make the realization that while path is already blazed, the journey can still be as frightening and creepy as they imagine it. Instead of worrying about story, then, the focus is put on directorial execution.
Flanagan proved himself able to stage and execute some imaginative and scary horror sequences in Oculus, and with Ouija: Origin of Evil, he once again pulls off some truly creept (at times frightening) moments. The film is a collection of solid scares that don’t require a lot of blood, gore, or an overabundance of CGI effects – just a smart understanding of what scares us, put into practice onscreen. A lot of Ouija: Origin of Evil may be borrowed from horror films of the past (Exorcist III is a clear influence), but by borrowing some of the best ideas, Flanagan is able to craft something that is better for being the sum of its parts. He also shows reverence to the genre by crafting the entire film in the style of ’60/70s horror flicks, with nice little head nods like a classic style opening credits, or bringing back signature camera techniques from the era to create a vintage feel to the film.
One of the main elements that lets Flanagan execute a solid scare flick is no doubt little Lulu Wilson. Horror carries a proud tradition of freaky little kids giving viewers nightmares (Exorcist, The Ring, The Omen…) and Wilson manages to earn her place in the ranks of the most memorable. Much of Ouija: Origin of Evil works because Wilson makes Doris a worthy horror monster, holding every scene she’s in, and managing to mix the cutesy and horrifying together with a subtly and control beyond her years.
Since Doris is the main attraction, it’s not surprising that other members of cast aren’t given that much focus or depth. Elizabeth Reaser is a pretty standard sketch of the hard-working sad mom just trying to get by. Her character’s motivations and choices are pretty ridiculous, creating some of the film’s biggest logical gaps, but Reaser does what she can with the role.
Oculus star Annalise Basso gets a bit more depth as Paulina, the older sister, as her arc (dealing with the grief of her dad’s death, and realizing the growing issues with her sister) is the most grounded and relatable. Paulina actually behaves like a complex human being and follows a realistic path of logic; in some ways she’s the driving character of the story – even if she’s not the most exciting. Rounding things out is Henry Thomas’ Father Tom, who falls on wrong side of the “creepy priest” line, but provides the necessary presence of the outsider looking in at this crazy situation.
In the end, Ouija: Origin of Evil is a solid Halloween horror flick. Thanks to freaky little Doris the film gets an extra boost, and is surprisingly better than the cheap, gimmicky, original that spawned it. You might not come away any more scared of Ouija boards than you were before, but you’ll be definitely be seeing Doris in your nightmares.
Ouija: Origin of Evil will be in theaters on October 21, 2016. It is 99 minutes long and is Rated PG-13 for disturbing images, terror and thematic elements.
