Oujia: Origin Of Evil

My father have been in contact with dead people for many years. He have told me stories, that might shock a lot of people. Do i believe in communicating with the dead ? I don´t know, i guess i am not the right person to dig into this. Every time i heard stories, about people who have passed on, and showed up at my fathers home, i will say that i am not surprised anymore. I used to be, but i understand that some people have the gift to communicate with the dead. So what would i ask someone i love, who have passed away, if i got the chance ? Tough question, but i am sure i would think of some things to mention. Death is a natural process for us all. Even if our loved ones will leave us, memories will always stay in our minds. Do we really need to communicate with the dead ? I suppose some people would say that we should, for different reasons. Have you ever seen a Ouija board ? A board that is supposed to be a gateway between our world and the world of the dead. I have watched family members play this game, back in 1998, but i did not play it myself. One of my family members said that the marker moved itself, while they tried to communicate, but i doubt that really happened. I am sure though that some of them will say it is true. Ouija boards have been a part of the horror genre for many years in films, and one of the classics i remember is the 1986 film Witchboard. This is a simple horror film, and nothing original, but it worked because of the concept around contacting the dead. It is actually 30 years since this film came out, and i still think it is good even today. Perhaps a bit cheesy in some scenes, but still functional. Other films where ouiji boards have been included, have been in several films. But not many of them might have been much to remember.  2 years ago a film called Ouiji was released, where teenagers open the gates to hell through a ouiji board. It was dull, way too predictable, and with terrible acting performances. Still, teenagers rushed to the cinemas, just to get more jump scares. Around 2015 i read that a prequel is coming, and i was not really excited about this. Since the Ouija film was awful, why would we want a prequel to a film like that ? Of course i still had to give this prequel a chance. Is this a much better film than last time, or is it just as bad as i expected it to be ?

The year is 1967, a widow named Alice Zander ( Elisabeth Reaser ) is a spiritual medium, working in her own home, together with her young daughters Paulina Zanders ( Annalise Basso ) and Doris Zander ( Lulu Wilson ). People rely on Alice to help them contact their loved ones, but in reality she uses her daughter to fake spiritual sessions. Alice knows that this is wrong, but she really needs the money. Paulina suggest that they should use a Ouija board in their sessions, Alice agree to try it. Alice husband Roger, passed away and left her and the girls on their own. As Alice tries to use the Ouiji board, she contacts someone named Markus. But this person, who calles himself Markus, turns out to possess her daughter Doris. At first, Doris thinks she might be talking to her father Roger on the other side, but everytime she uses the Ouiji board, things become seriously bad. This family is about to experience what the true sides of evil means.

If some of you remember the horror film Ouija from 2014, you might remember how bad it really was. It was just a simple dull horror teenage pile of dog shit. I am very happy to say that Ouija: Origin Of Evil, is a much better film, in every possible way. This film is a prequel to Ouija, and considering that the film from 2014 had nothing interesting to give us, i am really surprised over the positive changes. First of all, the acting is actually good from several actors. Especially the creepy young girl Doris Zander, really well acted by Lulu Wilson. She is most likely the strongest character in this film, and for such a young age, she acts much better than many teenagers do nowdays in Hollywood. Elisabeth Reaser and Annalise Basso also make great characters, through their performances. The story fits really well into the time period during the late 1960´s in Los Angeles. Director Mike Flanagan have directed several horror films before, like Oculus, and Before I Awake ( a film i have reviewed earlier in my movie review blog ). I will say this, from a horror perspective, Ouija: Origin Of Evil is his best film so far. If you compare this film to Before I Awake, he have improved himself as a director. The most positive surprise about this Ouija prequel, is that you actually feel the creepy atmosphere, especially with the young possessed girl Doris. The 2014 film Ouija tried to just rely on jump scares, and this prequel tries to go with more old school horror influences. And that is a smart move. Is there anything original to be found ? No, but that´s ok, because as long as you have a good time with a horror film, you don´t have to keep things original. And maybe it is good that director Mike Flanagan stayed within the old school concept, because ouija boards have a very old history behind them. Could we have something improved ? The demons might look a bit too simple, but other than that i can´t really complain. Ouija: Origin Of Evil is much better than i expected it to be. Not a horror classic in any way, but a solid horror film for fans of old school possession stories. I almost forgot to mention, Michael Bay is actually one of the producers. You never would have guessed that, but maybe he is finally doing some good decisions. Maybe i should get a Ouija board to my family this christmas ? It might be fun hunting some demons after christmas dinner, besides, otherwise we will just sit around watching christmas shows. I can think of more fun things to do, with shotguns included of course.....

Rating: DDD