Directed by:
Mike FlanaganCinematography:
Michael FimognariComposer:
The Newton BrothersCast:
Elizabeth Reaser, Henry Thomas, Lulu Wilson, Doug Jones, Annalise Basso, Sam Anderson, Ele Keats, Alexis G. Zall, Kate Siegel, Halle Charlton, Parker Mack (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
It was never just a game. Inviting audiences again into the lore of the spirit board, Ouija: Origin of Evil tells a terrifying new tale as the follow-up to 2014's sleeper hit that opened at number one. In 1965 Los Angeles, a widowed mother and her two daughters add a new stunt to bolster their séance scam business and unwittingly invite authentic evil into their home. When the youngest daughter is overtaken by the merciless spirit, this small family confronts unthinkable fears to save her and send her possessor back to the other side. (Universal Pictures US)
(more)Reviews (5)
Mike Flanagan really is a loser. A lot of people had hopes for him this year, but unfortunately, all three of his horror films this year are mediocrities that nobody will give a damn about. If he had made one horror film instead of three, but a decent one, I would have been happier. I didn’t bother with the first Ouija and if I hadn’t seen the sequel nothing would have happened either. The only upside is the female lead, who plays very convincingly and takes care of two decent scenes, that's where it ends. The flow of the film is uninteresting, even boring at times, the atmosphere is zero, the scares are cheap and ineffective, half the cinema laughed, I yawned and at the end I sighed happily as it was one of the weaker cinema visits this year. Three stars out of mercy. 50%
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Overall, a pleasant mainstream retro-horror film that, unlike the first part, doesn’t give many reasons to complain. On the other hand, it’s far from being a reason to celebrate. It felt a little like an uneven sequence of scenes and ideas that Flanagan couldn’t fit into Oculus. By that I mean that, though the individual scary scenes are more or less effective, I didn’t get the impression of a smooth experience. It is as if some of the scenes were not fully connected, as if there was too little or too much of something in some places. And I also felt that the staging of some of the scenes was somewhat rigid. The characters stand rigidly, then one of them moves somehow and says something; it feels weird and unnatural, I don’t know. With three films out of his forge, this should have been Flaganan’s year, but, once again, satisfaction is only relative. And someone should tell Mik that he’s trying too hard with those long faces and white eyes, they are not that creepy…
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It was a strange decision to make a prequel film in which almost nothing happens that we didn't already know from the previous installment. However, this time Mike Flanagan got the oracle board, and so Ouija: Origin of Evil is better in every way than the previous one. It has interesting characters, there's suspense, it's just not that silly or boring, and it can safely afford to quote The Exorcist several times. If you haven't seen the first film at all, go straight to this one and you'll get a very, very good piece of horror.
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Yet another of the many ghost movies I wasn't excited to watch, as they don't really work in most cases. Surprisingly, I wasn't dissatisfied this time, although it was no masterpiece. The plot was predictable, of course, as these films usually follow a standard formula. It was neither boring nor annoying, so 3*+.
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Ouija: Origin of Evil isn't a great film, but when it comes to movies featuring the Ouija board as the main focus, it's indeed one of the best. Plot-wise, it's a bit too clichéd, and considering that this is an "origin" film, it's quite clear how it will likely end, so there is a need for an open ending. But it's not entirely bad, and there are quite unpleasant scenes in it. A light above-average horror, worth going to the movie theater for.
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