Ouija: Origin of Evil Review

Ouija: Origin of Evil Review

When I came into to see Ouija: The Origin of Evil my expectations were pretty low. It is the sequel to a film that was not well received and it did not help that the trailers looked incredibly generic. Also, sequels in the horror genre usually suck, look at Exorcist II or Blair Witch 2. So I was expecting to be bored or angry at this movie. I actually turns out that Ouija: The Origin of Evil is an ok horror film that actually knows how to play with it’s premise. While it definitely has it’s flaws, overall the film is a decent flick for Halloween season. 

The story starts in 1967 Los Angeles, where we see a single mother named Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) who is a fake séance who scams people by making them think that they are talking to their dead loved ones. She is also helped by her two daughters, the oldest is Paulina Zander (Annalise Basso) and the youngest is Doris Zander (Lulu Wilson). One day Alice buys a Ouija board for her act but in the process invited an evil spirit into the house. Then when Doris is taken over by the spirit after she tries to contact her dad, it seems she can speak to people on the “other side”. However, once Alice uses Doris for her business and to speak to her dead husband, all hell breaks loose. 

What I liked about this movie is the setup. Normally in these movies, there would a contrived reason for why the character would unlock the evil spirits. However, in this scenario, it makes sense that our main characters would accidentally unlock evil spirits since Alice works in a business that involves spirits, even if it is all fake. Also, it is a business that has run through Alice’s family so it makes sense.

However the element that shocked me the most were the characters and the performances. At first, it seems that Alice Zander is unlikable since she is scamming people. Then it seems she is stupid for messing with evil spirits when she realizes they are real. However, she actually becomes more sympathetic because we learn that she has good intentions, as she feels it brings people inner peace to believe that they are talking to their dead loved ones. Even though we see that Alice should not mess with spirits it is understandable that she would mess with them as it allows her to talk to her husband. 

Also the character is more likable thanks to Elizabeth Reaser’s performance. I also really liked Lulu Wilson as Doris who plays a character who starts off as an innocent little girl and then turns into someone who is emotionless. I even liked Henry Thomas (who was the little boy from ET by the way) as the Pastor Father Tom who tries to help the Zanders. Annalise Basso is just ok as Paulina as see just plays your typical adventurous teenager who for some reason seems to have the same facial expression throughout the movie.

I also really enjoyed the 60’s ascetic of the film. The film’s cinematography has a very grainy feel to it like it was filmed with film strips. We also see some burn marks on the screen which also makes us feel like we are watching a film from the 60’s. The setting and costumes also look very 60’s and the music has a 60’s vibe.

However the biggest issue with the film is the lack of suspense and scares. There are a few jump scares that make you jump up a little bit but that is about it. While I did want to know what happened at the end I was not really scared of the evil spirit. I think the main reason is he never really does anything that would make you feel his dangerous presence. Until the end, all he does is help Alice and do strange things like write up random messages. 

Also it does not help that the CGI is laughably bad. When CGI was used, the people in the theater and I were laughing. There is also a romance between Paulina and some older guy which I did not care about since there is zero development for it and the romance is incredibly clique. 

Another problem is that there any many details in the ending that do not make any sense. I am not going to spoil what they are but there are strange twists that are never explained at any point through the film.  

Overall the film is a nice surprise with good characters, good performances, and a good set up. While it lacks scares, I would still say the film is entertaining enough to complete your Halloween.