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Ouija: Origin of Evil - Review: New players, better game


Ouija: Origin of Evil - Review: New players, better game
7 out of 10

A prequel for bad horror film that was is inspired by a board game.... I don’t remember my expectations ever being this low and walked into this film expecting a solid entry on the “worst of 2016” list. Whenever you see a film knowing you’ll be reviewing it afterwards you try to keep yourself as neutral as possible. More often this means calming yourself down in the face of something you’ve long waited to see; like Star Wars. Yet occasionally it comes down to deluding yourself into disbelief that a really bad looking film may still surprise you with passable quality, overcompensating with optimism. Why? Because every now and then it happens; a terrible looking film actually turns out to be great and it all becomes worthwhile. You get an experience that you never imagined could happen which feels all the more rewarding. Is Ouija: Origin of Evil that film? In some ways it is. Though it’s far from perfect it’s much better than expected and a vast improvement on the original film.

Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser –Twilight franchise) makes a decent living out of hosting fake spirit séances with the help of her daughters Lina (Annalise Basso – Oculus) and Doris (Lulu Wilson – Deliver Us From Evil). When Alice brings in a new Ouija board as a prop, unexplained things start happening to Doris.

Now first up, there is some passable connection to the first film here. Not only does it take place in the same location a generation removed but unlike most horror prequels the setup material makes sense. In the first film Dorris was the haunting spirit and an older ina in a mental asylum spoke of their mother being a spirit medium who used Doris to commune with the dead. That is essentially the story we’re seeing here and in many ways it’s more interesting than a bunch of dead teens walking being picked off by an evil spirit. Firstly the use of the board game plays into the narrative rather a Jumanji style antic dust off. Alice is a spirit medium and the 1960s setting was a time when the game came back into pop culture again so it’s understandable that she brings in the board to freshen up her act. The characters also provide reasonable grounds contacting spirits as although the girls are faking it, they’re doing so to help their customers find closure over personal loses and when things start getting a little weird Alice’s reaction is posative; that they finally do what they’ve been pretending to help more people. There’s a greater attention to storytelling in this sequel as (rather than previously debuting Stiles White) we now have Mike Flanagan directing (Hush, Oculus). Yet most importantly once everything is in motion the game itself becomes a very minimal part of the film which makes it easier to take it seriously. The whole setup and establishment process of the film functions very well. It’s only the film moves deeper into horror territory that cracks appear in this board.

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The biggest problem is exaggerated use of visual effects to show spiritual possession. Most of this revolves around young Doris and it’s just not needed because she does such a great job all by herself. She presents well with innocence and with little more than a trance like stillness provides a focus for many great scares. In one scene, out of the blue, she plainly and calmly gives Lina’s crush Mikey a detailed child like description of death by strangulation; it’s chilling and downright terrifying. Then by contrast giving her over top CG face morphs to simulate possession that resemble a melting sex doll face are comical at best with all the scares of a YouTube kitten video. Similarly pulling in classic troupes like wall & ceiling climbing don’t really add anything because they just look stupid compared to the better material. Sadly the whole looking through the eye of planchette thing features again and it’s still dumb. This is a film that’s far better at being creepy and unnerving than it is going for bigger horror scares but seems determined to try anyway. Not all the effects are a bust with some sparse moments providing good imagery; especially a climactic moment involving black figures. There’s also several sequences good, if all be it brief, suspense and tension that build anticipation well.

In terms cast Elizabeth Reaser starts off well on motherly duties but becomes less convincing as the film goes on even with the idea that she wants to believe. The real stars of this film are the two girls. The elder Annalise Basso may well be a scream queen in the making, having impressed in Oculus (a film I’m not shy about praising) and again here she really sells the fear and emotions she’s experiencing. She’s believable when too petrified to move yet still convincing when rallied into sister saving action. Then as for the younger Lulu Wilson, in short she makes this film work. A large part of it revolves around buying into her being increasingly dangerous and she delivers on that. None of the other supports really stand out but Henry Thomas (Elliott from ET… no seriously!) is passable as their concerned school principle/priest.

So taking this game back a few decades make it surprisingly more playable. If those involved are thinking about a 3rd edition they’ll be much better off following on from this prequel rather than going back to present day. The Halloween period always brings in a few poor horror films but Origin of Evil is not one of them and for this week at least will be your best fright fix. A horror prequel that bettered its original…. Now that is scary!

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