By Igmar P. / Café Cinéfilo
The summary. A widowed mother and her two daughters are suddenly thrust into the
terrifying world of the supernatural, when the youngest daughter plays the
board known as ouija and in the process unleashes a diabolical force that
begins to haunt their house, in “Ouija: Origin of Evil”.
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| Poster of 'Ouija: Origin of Evil' |
It is the
year 1967 in Los Angeles, California. Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) is a widowed
mother, who works as a psychic medium and performs séances in her house, for
customers who wish to contact their departed loved ones.
Although Alice assures her relatives really did have the spiritual gift,
she resorts to special effects hidden within the room of the séances, effects
which are operated by her daughters: The adolescent Lina (Annalise Basso), and
9-year-old Doris (Lulu Wilson).
The business hasn’t gone all that well for Alice, who struggles to keep
the house her deceased husband left her and the girls. But she has hopes that
things will get better. That’s when young Lina sneaks out of the house one
night, to meet up with her friends.
In that meeting, Lina and her friends play with the novelty and sensation
of the time, a board that can be used, supposedly, to contact the dead, called
the Ouija. To play it, everyone must follow three crucial rules: Never play it
alone, never play in a graveyard and always say “goodbye” at the end of the
game.
But Alice catches Lina in her mischief and so she punishes her, not
without hearing first, within Lina’s complaints, that Alice should use the Ouija
in her séances.
Alice decides to do just that. In the middle of highlighting job ads in
the local newspaper that require secretaries, Alice buys an Ouija board and
takes it home.
While Alice pretends to be playing with it, in order to hook it up to
the special effects, Doris begins to behave in a strange manner. Afterwards,
Doris begins to play alone with the Ouija, and pretty soon the board starts
moving its wooden planchette without the use of the special effects, or help of
anyone for that matter. Also, the board reveals hidden truths to Doris.
Although this at first proves to be very helpful for the Zander family,
soon they begin to discover that a mysterious and strange force has been awoken
and is now threatening to break the tranquility of the house, as well as threaten
their own lives.
The review. Directed by Mike
Flanagan, who previously directed the effective horror film “Oculus”, “Ouija: Origin
of Evil” is a prequel that is, by far, superior to its disappointing
predecessor. This sequel/prequel triumphs by taking the necessary time to
introduce its characters; by not resorting to cheap scares, and finally by
delivering an interesting as well as terrifying tale of the supernatural.
Mike Flanagan, along with Jeff Howard, wrote the script of this picture
which is supposed to tell the origin of the ouija and the ghost which was
revealed in the first film; that’s why the story takes place in the past, in
the 1960’s; although, it should be noted that is not necessary to see the 2014
film to understand this follow up, since “Ouija: Origin of Evil” stands
somewhat alone as an effective independent story.
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| Another poster of 'Ouija' |
“Ouija: Origin of Evil” goes beyond showing us the places, the cars, the
music and the clothing fashion of the ‘60’s; it even goes as far as showing,
before the initial credits, the old Universal film studios logo; possibly to
inspire nostalgia between older moviegoers, to take them back to the times of
the horror movies of the late ‘60’s and most of the ‘70’s that were really so
scary and creepy, mostly because of the darker and dooming moods a lot of their
stories had.
Another high point of this picture is the outstanding performance of
Lulu Wilson as the 9-year-old Doris, who really becomes one of the scariest
elements of the film, after being possessed by the strange spirits of the witch
board. So much so, that even when she is quietly sitting on the couch watching
television, she is capable of inspiring tension to the audience.
Another strong point of the film is that it takes its time in developing
its characters: Sexual tension begins to grow between Alice and the Catholic
priest and student counselor of the school the girls go to, Father Tom,
although it doesn’t go beyond being just tension; Lina (Annalise Basso) shows
just the correct amount of rebelliousness that sometimes accompanies her age,
impatient to begin dating boys among other things, and also, we learn of the
Zander’s very real financial problems.
What made “Oculus” (2013) such an effective horror film was its director
Mike Flanagan’s decision to not leave it all to the scares and the visual
effects. In “Oculus”, besides the diabolical mirror, there was a story of a
family whose parents had serious psychological and emotional problems. The
haunted mirror became such a strong force to reckon with because of that.
Now, in the prequel of “Ouija”, Flanagan shows us a family with its own
problems, problems some of us can even relate to, and added the supernatural
element, one which is capable of bringing about terrible ordeals when it is not
fully understood.
Of course there are a lot of scares in “Ouija: Origin of Evil”, but I’m
glad to report that its scares are more of the type of “The Conjuring”, and not
like the ineffective scares of the 2014 version of “Ouija”.
I could talk more about the film, but I’m afraid I would ruin the
surprises that turn it into such an effective a horror movie. Just to finally
say that “Ouija: Origin of Evil” sometimes reminds us a little of “The Exorcist”
(although it’s not as masterful as William Friedkin’s classic nightmare, but
close); also “Amityville”, Stuart Rosenberg’s 1979 version, of course, and
even, to some extent, the most recent “Insidious”, (2010, James Wan.)
Rating: * * *
Main cast and details
Title: ‘Ouija: Origin of Evil’
Director: Mike Flanagan
Screenplay: Mike Flanagan and Jeff Howard
Country: USA
Year: 2016
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Cast: Elizabeth Reaser, Lulu Wilson, Annalise Basso, Lin Shaye y Henry
Thomas
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour and 39 minutes
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