If you decide to hit the multiplex for Halloween today, you can’t really go wrong with Ouija: Origin of Evil. I find myself surprised to be saying this since 2014’s Ouija was a by the numbers and ultimately forgettable horror film that somehow made its way to over $50 million at the box office on a $5 million budget. I wasn’t remotely interested in the prequel to the film but found myself impressed by its first trailer and even was shocked to hear the glowing reviews before its release last week (81% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). The finished product is an effectively made horror film that actually crosses over into a few sub-genres with the greatest of ease. The film works as a haunted house picture, exorcism drama and period piece while infusing some life into a potential franchise that seemed DOA when the first film was released.
Ouija: Origin of Evil takes place in 1967 and tells the backstory of the character played by Lin Shaye in the first film. Played here by Annalise Basso, Lina Zander is the eldest daughter of Alice (Elizabeth Reaser), a fake fortune teller whose house is rigged with customer-fooling trickery. As Lina and her younger sister, Doris (Lulu Wilson) hide in the background and work the special effects, Alice gives what she considers “comfort” to the grief-stricken folks who’ve lost loved ones. The opening scene accomplishes a lot, providing humorous jump scares while establishing the familial bond between the Zanders.
The opening sets up a lot but from there the film is a bit of a slow burn as director Mike Flanagan sets up appropriate atmosphere and tone for the period piece horror film. We grow familiar with the day-to-day concerns of each character. The widowed Alice is worried about keeping the house she and her late husband struggled to buy. Doris is bullied at school because of her mother’s profession and high school sophomore Lina has a crush on Mikey (Parker Mack), the lanky senior whose palm Alice “reads” when he visits the house. “Is this your dominant hand?” Alice asks her daughter’s potential paramour before dispensing his fortune: “If this, or your other hand touches my daughter in a way I don’t like, your lifeline will get much shorter.” The film has a little fun with the show aspect of the profession before it becomes all too real.
It’s Mikey who asks the Ouija board a question he could have gotten answered on this plane. But more importantly, the session he, Lina and her friends have inspires Lina to tell Alice to incorporate the board into her psychic act. Alice buys one, and we learn the three rules that you know will be violated: Don’t play alone, don’t play in a graveyard, and always say goodbye to whatever you were talking to on the board. Nobody says goodbye, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be leaving.
Of course, Doris plays alone, because there wouldn’t be much of a movie without this pivotal moment. Unlike her successors from the first movie; however, she waits for the board to complete its answers. The Zanders are a bit too calm when the Ouija board starts moving by itself and Doris starts to have a real connection to the spirit world. But there’s an explanation for that—Alice’s mother had real psychic powers. “Maybe it skips a generation,” she says before incorporating Doris into her now-realistic readings. Unfortunately, Alice doesn’t know the real reason her daughter has become a hot spot for the deceased: She’s been possessed by an evil entity.
If there is a possession, we have to have a priest. This character is Doris’ school principal Father Tom, a man of the cloth who found the seminary after his wife passed away. This potential exorcist is played by Henry Thomas, who is very good here, and he gets the film’s best, most suspenseful scene. Father Tom comes for a reading where he communicates with his late wife. The outcome of that reading and Father Tom’s reasons for doing it are intercut with a likable character, who is in grave danger. Flanagan’s edits carefully build the tension as we hop back and forth between Father Tom’s exposition and the threat of fatal violence being perpetrated elsewhere. It’s definitely a moment that stands out.
From this point, the film becomes a bit familiar with its scares as all hell breaks loose but Flanagan films the chaos with great style and offers up some brutality that will please genre fans. The suspense becomes muted as the film wraps up but he has built up so much goodwill leading up to this point that he can be forgiven for some of its cliched moments.
Ouija: Origin of Evil succeeds due to a taut setup and some standout acting that elevates the material. After the Blair Witch misstep which put a small speed bump on a solid road for 2016 horror, this film puts the genre back on solid ground and is definitely worth your time.
Reel Talk gives Ouija: Origin of Evil 3 Reels
