Review of Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016) by Joseph D — 21 Oct 2016

This time, we're going back in time, to before the events of OUIJA, in OUIJA: Origin of Evil!

I'll start by saying that this prequel is quite a bit better than the original, I might have known what was in store for these characters, but that didn't take away from the experience.

The cast was great. The actresses playing the daughters were really good, the young one was creepy long before the special effects kicked in, & the older one could easily stand proudly along side slasher history's final girls IMHO. The mom was well played, as a woman at the end of her rope who tries everything she can, without resorting to illegal activity, to support what's left of her family. The supporting characters were pretty good, some of them even got me to care about them, despite me knowing they were DOA. What I really loved about the main characters though, is that when things start to go pear-shaped, they make mostly smart decisions about what to do.

The effects & set design varied from great to ok, you really felt like you were looking at a picturesque 1960s world with a dark underbelly. The effects definitely had a practical base, with miner CG touch-ups, & it only went full CG when it had to (although there was this one CG effect that I think could've been done practically, but it really didn't hurt the film).

Most of the jump-scares were done right, without lame musical punctuation, but the ones that had it, I didn't mind, as they were mostly at the climax. The best scares came from the young daughter, she was I'm-not-turning-my-back-on-you-for-anything creepy! She could play Damian's daughter in a remake of the 4th Omen film! I love creepy kids in horror films, they never disappoint!

The sound design was passable, it knew when to punctuate, & when not to. Only at the climax did it really start in with the cliche jump-scare punctuation, but things were coming to a head, so it wasn't that bad.

3 & 1/4 stars. Unlike it's predecessor, OUIJA: Origin of Evil actually was scary in some places. It gave us insight into the Ouija film mythos, & it was entertaining, at least to me.