Ouija: Origins of Evil

So who was really asking for another go around with this franchise? Nobody, right? Well apparently the filmmakers don’t give a shit what you think, and for that, I’m glad.

Serving as a prequel to the (terrible) original, Ouija: Origins of Evil expands upon its mythology with the introduction of a brand new family in a brand new setting. Taking place in the 1960’s, the story follows a family of three who make their living running an at home business where they excel in giving their customers closure through a series of staged séances. By “contacting” their dead relatives, Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) believes that she and her two young daughters Paulina (Annalise Basso) and Doris (Lulu Wilson) are doing something good for these people by allowing them to let go of their pasts and move on with their lives. Through intricate slight of hand and some movie magic-like devices, the Zanders make a steady living helping as many people as they can, but when Alice buys a seemingly innocent board game to spice up their “shows”, something frightening begins to happen, something that may be much more real than anyone could have imagined.

Cue the creepy possessed child cliché.

First things first, I absolutely despised the original Ouija film. I’m pretty sure I gave it a one and a half star rating on my Vudu account, so when I say that this film is almost 100% better, know that I’m not coming at you from any type of biased point of view. The new setting and prequel story immediately does wonders for this film, grounding it in a world where cell phones and smart decisions aren’t exactly the norm, but giving the proceedings just enough style to differentiate itself from the rest of the horror films out there now. Surprisingly, the script is relatively strong when it comes to dialogue and certain elements of the story, but it’s really the new director, Mike Flanagan, that puts this film on track to becoming something actually worth watching.

While the script has its up and down moments, it’s hard not to realize almost immediately that something feels much better about this film. Chalk it up to the way that Flanagan stages and shoots his scenes that make the script as effective as it is, but at the end of the day it’s the filmmakers’ commitment to going all in with this story that makes this film leaps and bounds better than its predecessor. I was consistently surprised by the way the story played out as well as intrigued by the slight emotional weight the filmmakers injected into the proceedings, but it’s the characters and the attempt to give them actual arcs that stood out the most. Letting the characters become more fleshed out as well as taking the time to build the scares and story does a lot for the film as a whole, something quick cash grab horror schlock usually doesn’t concern itself with. By deliberately pacing everything as the filmmakers do here, it gives us the feeling that something scary and unnerving is truly building, that what we’re seeing is coming together in a coherent and clever manner, which, for me at least, helps sell a lot of what this script is throwing at us, even if some of it falls flat.

Now all of this is all well and good, but the film can only do so much before it devolves into something that reminds you of why we can’t have good horror films any more. To say that this script has its clichés is an understatement considering this film is at its worst when it plays to your expectations. More than once I found myself genuinely surprised by what was happening on-screen only for something relatively stupid or familiar to happen a second later. I’m honestly sick and tired of the whole creepy child angle these sorts of films take, but with some truly interesting wrinkles in said cliché, I was only rolling my eyes half the time.

Unfortunately, with the acting as strong as it is at times, I feel like more often than not, Doris ended up being the sore thumb of the bunch. Lulu Wilson isn’t the worst part of this film, but the way the director staged a lot of the scenes she’s in, especially when he’s trying to up the creepy factor with her possession and all, it seems to come off as being something less than what the rest of the film deserves, something more in line with the first film than anything. Couple that will some utterly terrible CG specifically when the filmmakers try to pull off the old “mouth opening wider than it should” shtick (which was totally unnecessary by the way), and a third act that is more miss than hit, and the positive aspects that this film is able to pull off are lessened quite a bit.

Either way, Ouija: Origins of Evil is much better than it should be but not as good as it could have been, and while the film successfully scratches your horror itch while bringing some fun and tense scares courtesy of a competent director and a relatively strong script, it’s not reinventing any wheels. I don’t know if I really need another entry in this franchise, but I’m not necessarily opposed to it, especially if the same filmmakers return for another go around. And to think I almost skipped over this one!

On a side note, kudos to the filmmakers for putting that old school film reel changing cue at the corner of the screen. I’m sure no one noticed and no one knows what I’m blabbering about, but I thought it was a nifty touch to ground the film in its 1960’s setting. Cool!!!