Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)
Starring Henry Thomas, Annalise Basso, Elizabeth Reaser, Lulu Wilson, Parker Mack, Sam Anderson, Kate Siegel, Doug Jones
Directed by Mike Flanagan
Most of the best traditional horror films lay down rules; rules that are then broken by the clueless characters which of course sets in motion a chain of horrifying and often deadly events. Don’t go into the basement. Don’t feed gremlins after midnight. Don’t say that name five times in a row while standing in front of a mirror. Don’t take the ancient artifact home from an archeological dig. And don’t, whatever you do, forget to say goodbye. That last one is just one of the don’ts of playing the Ouija board game.
Always say a polite and respectful goodbye to the spirits before putting that planchette away or you will have them following you around forever. And I do mean forever. That’s what happens to the Zander family – widowed mom Alice (Elizabeth Reaser) and daughters Paulina and Doris (Annalise Basso, Lulu Wilson) – when they don’t play by the rules.
The setting is 1967 in L.A., a more innocent time, just a few years before the city’s soul would be forever tarnished by the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and the brutal Manson Family Murders. The time and place are not integral to the story, but they do provide an essential springboard for what’s about to happen.
Alice and her girls, teenage Paulina and precocious nine-year-old Doris, are still living in the ancestral family home of the dear departed Mr. Zander though it’s become nearly impossible to maintain the huge California Craftsman and support themselves without him. Alice works as a psychic, a soothsayer and a medium. She has no special gift, but her clients believe she does and so they cross her palms with silver and return again and again. It’s not an honest living, but Alice is an honest woman and she does her best to make sure that not only do her girls have a roof over their heads, but that her clients are kept happy.
One night after Paulina plays Hasbro’s Ouija with some school friends, Alice gets an idea: add the hot new board game to her arsenal of séance chicanery. I didn’t say it was a good idea. In short order the rules are disregarded, and poor Doris is possessed by a pitiless spirit. When Alice reaches out to the local priest (Henry Thomas), the fight for Doris’ soul is on.
Ouija: Origin of Evil is technically a sequel to Ouija, the teen stab-n-slab misfire few folks liked. Don’t let that deter you. I guess since the first movie was #1 at the box office on opening weekend and since there is an official Hasbro tie-in, the studio had to connect the two movies. But co-writer and director Mike Flanagan has taken a turn and done a 180 with this haunted horror story. Flanagan started out indie (Absentia) and quickly shot up into the studio ranks (his next movie is Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game) but in between he never abandoned his artistic sensibilities. Not only is Ouija: Origin of Evil set in the late 60s, it’s shot like a vintage movie – let the zooms and split-diopter shots commence! But don’t worry, kiddoes: there’s still plenty of jump scares and CGI for you.
Ouija: Origin of Evil succeeds on many levels. While suspense and scares are easily anticipated by we fans who’ve seen it all and then some, there are a few genuinely surprising and spooky moments to be had. The story is well thought out and brilliantly acted by the small and mature cast. Henry Thomas and Elisabeth Reaser are awesome as expected – but maturity is also present in the younger players. Lulu Wilson is a standout, but really there’s not a single dud above the line and it’s refreshing to see teenagers being more than just cannon fodder to provide body count.
On the downside, I could have done with less of today’s tropes (demons scuttling on ceilings, CGI-augmented boogeymen, the ending after the ending) but I’m old-school and those complaints are minor.
2016 has been a good year in horror films – The Neon Demon, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Lights Out, The Conjuring 2, Don’t Breathe, The Boy, The Purge: Election Year – and now we have one more to add to our best-of list with Ouija: Origin of Evil.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
