Movie Review: Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)
Synopsis: In 1967, Alice, a widowed mother of two daughters, tries to make ends meet by holding fake spiritual "readings" in her living room. Hoping to add a little extra to her act, Alice purchases a Ouija board only to discover her youngest daughter, Doris, is seemingly able to use the board to really talk to the deceased. She decides to take advantage of this without realizing the evil she is unleashing in the process.
Who's in it? The movie stars Elizabeth Reaser, Annalise Basso, Lulu Wilson, Henry Thomas and Parker Mack.
Review: I came across Ouija: Origin of Evil yesterday and since I recently re-watched Ouija, I figured I'd take the time to re-watch this prequel as well. It turned out to be as good as I remembered.
The main thing I liked about this movie was the mystery surrounding the presence Doris (Wilson) was talking to. Was it really her father? Was it some other spirit (and, if so, who)? Was Doris just a better scammer than her mother (Reaser)?
Unlike so many other movies that have ruined their plots by revealing too many details, this film does a good job keeping the secrets as long as possible. Even as Doris continued to act more and more possessed, the movie kept the reveals to a minimum, keeping me interested. As I've said countless times before, predictability prevents movies from being scary. This film avoided that scenario and I can honestly say I had no idea how it would end.
I also found I liked the interaction between the various characters in this movie. You could sense the tension between the mother and daughters, especially when they were in danger of losing their house and I thought the "will they or won't they" potential romance emerging between Alice and the local priest (Thomas) was somewhat interesting, partly because I didn't know if it would have some sort of negative effect.
I will admit, I was a bit on the fence about the way the movie did eventually end, partly because it was a little confusing at first. However, after having time to reflect on it, I am willing to give that a passing grade as well. At minimum, it wasn't predictable (as I mentioned before) and that, alone is worth giving the movie some points.
If I had any complaints about the movie, it would be the overall lack of backstory regarding Alice. Other than the fact her husband apparently died suddenly, and her grandmother claimed to be a psychic, I thought the movie failed to explain why she decided to run a scam out of her house rather than getting an actual job. It wasn't as though her scam was raking in a ton of money, or even enough for her to pay her bills.
Final Opinion: What more can I say? I didn't hate it. If you are looking for a decent horror flick to watch, I'd recommend it as a result.
My Grade: B
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 2016:
Movie Review: The Midnight Man (2016)
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