Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)

Despite somewhat promising trailers, Ouija:  Origin of Evil is a mess.  As a prequel to 2014's moderate hit Ouija, director Mike Flannigan (Oculus, Hush, the upcoming Gerald's Game) creates a film that doesn't really know what it wants to be.  At times, the proceedings feel (and look) like a spooky supernatural pilot episode for an NBC series, with stilted writing and wooden acting from some of its young cast.  Other times, the film is not sure if wants to be a simple carbon copy of more successful films like the Insidious or Conjuring films.  Ultimately, Flannigan's film will probably see just enough box office success to churn out another sequel to the original film which will, no doubt, repeat the process.


Set in Los Angeles 1965, the titular Ouija board becomes a new angle in the tarot card reading/séance scam run by a widowed mother (with the special effects aid of her young daughters, Doris and Lina).  Not long after the Hasbro game is introduced, young Doris starts communicating with her deceased father -- or so she thinks -- from the other side.  The usual oddities start happening to Doris at this point; eyes rolling into the back of her head, mouth agape like the "Come To Daddy" video from Aphex Twin, writing journal entries in Polish...  Enter the principal and head priest at the girls' Catholic school, Father Tom Hogan (Henry Thomas in a wasted role) who intervenes to investigate via a by-the-numbers possession trope -- when he first arrives at the house, Flannigan deliberately echoes Father Merrin's arrival in The Exorcist, though here it's during a bright, sunny day.  William Friedkin's classic is even recalled when Father Hogan interviews Doris while she's seemingly a conduit for the priest's own deceased wife. 

Cue "Tubular Bells"

Honestly, nothing truly interesting happens until the Scooby Doo moment when the true nature of the house is discovered -- via the Polish journal entries that Doris was a vehicle to write out.  Unfortunately, it's a bit of "too little, too late" as whatever interesting parts of that story arch are tossed aside for cheap scares and ridiculous-looking CGI demons...or ghosts...or whatever they're supposed to be (think a cross between Pulp Fiction's The Gimp and American Horror Story:  Murder House's Rubber Man).  During what characteristically should be a strong third act, things really start to fall apart for Ouija:  Origin of Evil as character possessions are telegraphed from a mile away and what was probably meant to be a classic jump scare unfortunately comes across as an unintentionally hilarious moment. 

Horror Boyfriend Material:  Comedic Relief Since 1984

When did it become a requirement for any ghostly characters to do stuff like this?

Unfortunately, those aren't the only two weak points in the film; Lulu Wilson, as Doris, does a carbon copy impression of Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense and David Dorfman in The Ring -- ie: your standard "creepy little kid" cliché.  Perhaps it's due to the writing as well, but there are times when this 9yr old little girl is spewing dialogue like she's a 30yr old, immediately killing any believability in those scenes.  Also, there's a bizarre subplot that tries to lay the foundations for a love connection between the widowed Alice (Elizabeth Reaser of the Twilight saga) and the widower Father Hogan!  The way it all plays out on-screen comes off as just as awkward as the two characters are when they're having dinner and Alice is showing an ample amount of cleavage! 

You know she's weird because Blank Stare.

Although kudos to Flannigan for starting the film with Universal Pictures' old logo (1963-1990) that most of us grew up with, his attempt to be cute and "retro" by digitally adding a black dot every 20 minutes or so to signify a reel change, while well-intentioned, is more distracting than nostalgic.  For a film shot digitally and released in a era when there is no such thing as reel changes any more thanks to digital projectors, this cute motif was a nice attempt to say "Hey, this is an old school film!  Look!" but it comes off as more of annoyance and only points out how slick and unbelievable shooting digital versus on film stock can appear. 

Hey!  How are ya?

As a prequel to the events in Ouija, this films takes place in the same house and Lina (played by this subgenre's resident go-to actress, Lin Shaye in the original film) is portrayed a high school sophomore by Annalise Bosso.  Bosso is effective and likable as Lina, though the script almost immediately kills any sort of "Yeah!" factor introduced by the character and her actions.  The goofy ending, I guess, bridges this film and the previous one.  However sequel, prequel, or not...this film should have been able to stand on its own and not confuse the hell out of the uninitiated. 

Annalise Bosso as Lina

In the end, Ouija:  Origin of Evil is an entertaining 99 minutes, but you're likely better off staying home and watching superior films with similar ideas like The Exorcist or Witchboard.

Oujia:  Orgin of Evil is a bored game.

Skip it!