Review of Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016) by Thequietgamer — 20 May 2017

Mike Flanagan has proven himself once again to be one of the best directors of horror today. He manages to take what I honestly believe to be one of the worst horror movies ever created, "Ouija," and give it a darn fine prequel with "Origin of Evil." He even goes so far as add little flourishes that really sell the late 1960's era setting. He recreates it well and little flourishes that pop onscreen are there to harken back to what it was like watching a movie during that time period as well. These touches are remarkable and make the movie one heck of a period piece. The attention to detail is great.

As a horror film it stands alright as well. Admittedly, it's not very scary at all. Yet, Flanagan has some great tricks up his sleeve to make it more than your average jump scare fest. The tone is suitably creepy and bizarre moments are around every corner to set viewers on edge. Of course the real strength in this department comes from the young Lulu Wilson. Her performance is astounding. Better than a lot of actors and actresses who have been in the game for years. She's creepy, sweet, and demented. Perfectly capable of playing both adorable little angel and deformed, vile demon all in the same film. She is what's so creepy about things.

I am able to forgive the lack of fright thanks to both the movie's ingenuity and well-written plot. Struggling families are nothing new to horror films, but rarely these days are their struggles so well realized. We witness genuinely fleshed out characters that are backed up by great performances. Little touches of humor and heart add believability to the situation. The set up about these characters running a scam about being able to contact the dead in order to just get by, and then coming across real trouble when they are actually able to make contact is a great one. It's also a very effective prequel tale that ties into it's (awful) predecessor nicely. I don't recommend watching that movie to see for yourself though. Just stick with this one.

A perfect example of how something good can come out of something really, really bad. At least when the situation is in the right hands that is. Mike Flanagan outdoes himself by rising above what could have been a simple paycheck and a awfully delivered movie like the first Ouija, and goes out of his way to create another truly great modern horror movie. It may be lacking in actual scares, but it certainly tries harder than the average flick in the genre that hits the screen these days. Give it a shot. It's not perfect, but it certainly stands as a really enjoyable experience and not just because it is a HUGE improvement on it's predecessor.