Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)

[baumer]

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Ouija: Origin of Evil is a fascinating exercise. More a prequel than expected, it takes the "horror backstory" of the original Ouija and makes it into a feature. The results are surprisingly good. The film has a nice atmosphere, amplified by fun throwback vibes in cinematography and editing. The score is appropriately eerie and Flanagan certainly knows how to set up a scare. It's just a true shame it's so devoted to its bad source material (the original film, not the board game).

 

Yet, there's one major problem with the movie. The third act feels like the 2013 film is possessing the film, sometimes in good ways (such as reprising scares in a much more enticing setting) but more often in bad ways. An over-reliance on jump scares, a cheesy ending, and one of the worst final shots of the year all feature in this act, and it's really sad to see a movie squander such as a solid start. Ouija: Origin of Evil is an alright horror film in theaters for Halloween 2016, but it feels like a failure because it really could've been so much more. C

[baumer]

Horrid in every way imaginable.  This is the problem with horror in today's market.  We've gotten to a period in horror where it's all about trying to be creepy without killing anyone.  There's one real death in this movie and then at the end they throw in a couple of insignificant kills.  This is poorly written, horribly directed and the complete antithesis of what I think horror should be.  I was bored, I didn't get scared once and the film wouldn't have been even remotely scary if there wasn't any stingers when things go awry.  So all I can say is fuck this movie.  It's a horrible piece of crap.

 

0/10