Ouija: Origin of Evil - directed by Mike Flanagan
Ouija: Origin of Evil is a movie very much of the Conjuring ilk.
It would be unfair to call it a Conjuring ripoff but I think it is reasonable to say that its existence owes much to the success of James Wan's hit scare-fests.
Also like the Conjuring movies this film is set some decades back - in this case 1967.
While this gives the opportunity to apply some unique design to the production it also deftly sidesteps the issue of explaining away cellphones- that blight on the believability of most modern horror films.
No cellphones - no need to script them out relevance with accidents, flat batteries or strange reception issues.
That just leaves the problem of explaining why apparently rational people would stay in a house when truly horrifying stuff starts to happen.
The writers of "Ouija: Origin of Evil" have that figured too as it happens.
Alice Zander and her daughters Lina and Doris are running a scam.
They offer 'readings'... seances in effect.
They have a table with hidden cables that can make candles snuff out, a cabinet in which young Doris can hide and produce noises and various other tricks and props to fool people into thinking that they are communicating with deceased loved ones.
Alice maintains that her intentions are pure in that she is offering relief and reassurance.
After older daughter Lina plays a Ouija game at a party she sneaks out to attend Alice buys a set and rigs some magnets up to the pointer (planchette is the proper word)
Trouble arrives shortly after the first use when Doris becomes possessed by some sort of entity.
Her eyes go milky, she writes in Polish and she has an extraordinarily detailed knowledge of what it feels like to be strangled to death!
Now normally the sorts of things that happen next make me want to yell 'Leave the house!!' at the screen but in this case Alice sees a business opportunity in Doris' new skills.
For a little while it works out and so the pair conduct real seances while Lina begins a budding romance with Mikey (Parker Mack who could be a long lost Franco brother).
This all plays out in very deliberate fashion with nothing too over the top occurring in the first half.
No- over the top is the domain of the second half of the movie but I will come to that shortly.
There are some very effective moments in the lead up to the really heavy stuff including a wonderful scene in which the possessed Doris turns the tables on an awful school bully.
Her school principal is conveniently a priest who provides a little bit of exposition here and there.
Played by Henry Thomas (yes- Elliott from "E.T") this character works really well and the information is imparted pretty seamlessly.
This character also has some history that aids the plot.
It is all very well done and paces out the horrors nicely.
Things turn nasty when the reason for the demonic activity is revealed.
I loved this part of the film - it reinvigorated my interest at a point when I was getting ever so slightly low in my seat.
I won't spoil it but let me just throw a quick phrase at you - Nazi Doctor!
The writing is good but it is the performances of a cast chosen superbly well to the last.
Elizabeth Reaser is one of those actors whose face you know but name you probably don't.
I liked her work as a waitress in the tv show "Mad Men" but she has also been in the Twilight movies, True Detective, Liberal Arts and a bunch more films and tv shows.
As Alice she is required to bear the brunt of making everything believable. That I didn't think it odd that the family stayed in the house is down to some script machinations for sure but also on no small part due to her terrific work.
I also really liked what Henry Thomas brought to the film as Father Tom and Annalise Basso is very strong as Lina.
But there is a shining star here and it is Lulu Wilson as nine year old Doris - she with the devil inside her.
Wilson is seriously creepy and as much as it comes from contact lenses, gravity defying scuttles and leaps across walls and ceiling and jump scare appearances out of the darkness it also draws a lot from dialogue.
She has a doozy of scene describing that death by strangulation that I mentioned.
Director Mike Flanagan lets the bulk of it play out in one shot with a slow zoom onto Wilson's face as she gets to the nitty gritty of her story.
She is wonderful in this scene and indeed in every scene.
As to the all important question of scariness I would put this somewhere between "Lights Out" and "The Conjuring 2".
I was a little disappointed with both movies and didn't find them as scary as the first Conjuring film but they both had their pulse pounding moments and plenty of invention in the shooting.
The latter is something that "Ouija: Origin of Evil" excels in - this is a marvellously well shot film with great lighting and inventive use of camera angles.
The violence is pretty restrained and it fits very comfortably into that M rating.
I haven't seen the first film so I cannot comment on the franchise-worthiness of the Ouija movies but based just on this one I would welcome another round.
This to me is far more fun that both "Lights Out" and "The Blair Witch" and has far sharper writing than "The Conjuring 2".
Mike Flanagan has already impressed with "Oculus" and is currently shooting the Stephen King film "Gerald's Game" which I am super keen to what he does with.
Clearly he is a director to watch but I am most excited to see how Lulu Wilson's career progresses - if the talent she displays here is any indication we are in for some fine, fine work from her.
* stay until the credits have finished too -there is a bonus scene right at the end
RATING: 76 / 100
CONCLUSION: A nicely crafted horror flick with great pacing and primo performances. It isn't the scariest film you'll see this year but it may well prove to be the most interesting horror film thanks to a smart script and that uber-creepy turn from Lulu Wilson.
Starring: Elizabeth Reaser, Henry Thomas, Lin Shaye, Doug Jones, Kate Siegel, Annalise Basso, Alexis G. Zall, Lulu Wilson, Sam Anderson, Parker Mack, Lincoln Melcher, Eve Gordon
Screenplay: Mike Flanagan & Jeff Howard
Music Score by: The Newton Brothers
Cinematography: Michael Fimognari
Cinematography: Michael Fimognari
Edited by: Mike Flanagan
Running Time: 99 minutes
Language: English
Rated: M - Violence
Running Time: 99 minutes
Language: English
Rated: M - Violence
It would be unfair to call it a Conjuring ripoff but I think it is reasonable to say that its existence owes much to the success of James Wan's hit scare-fests.
Also like the Conjuring movies this film is set some decades back - in this case 1967.
While this gives the opportunity to apply some unique design to the production it also deftly sidesteps the issue of explaining away cellphones- that blight on the believability of most modern horror films.
No cellphones - no need to script them out relevance with accidents, flat batteries or strange reception issues.
That just leaves the problem of explaining why apparently rational people would stay in a house when truly horrifying stuff starts to happen.
The writers of "Ouija: Origin of Evil" have that figured too as it happens.
Alice Zander and her daughters Lina and Doris are running a scam.
They offer 'readings'... seances in effect.
They have a table with hidden cables that can make candles snuff out, a cabinet in which young Doris can hide and produce noises and various other tricks and props to fool people into thinking that they are communicating with deceased loved ones.
Alice maintains that her intentions are pure in that she is offering relief and reassurance.
After older daughter Lina plays a Ouija game at a party she sneaks out to attend Alice buys a set and rigs some magnets up to the pointer (planchette is the proper word)
Trouble arrives shortly after the first use when Doris becomes possessed by some sort of entity.
Her eyes go milky, she writes in Polish and she has an extraordinarily detailed knowledge of what it feels like to be strangled to death!
Now normally the sorts of things that happen next make me want to yell 'Leave the house!!' at the screen but in this case Alice sees a business opportunity in Doris' new skills.
For a little while it works out and so the pair conduct real seances while Lina begins a budding romance with Mikey (Parker Mack who could be a long lost Franco brother).
 |
| Elizabeth Reaser, Annalise Basso and Henry Thomas |
No- over the top is the domain of the second half of the movie but I will come to that shortly.
There are some very effective moments in the lead up to the really heavy stuff including a wonderful scene in which the possessed Doris turns the tables on an awful school bully.
Her school principal is conveniently a priest who provides a little bit of exposition here and there.
Played by Henry Thomas (yes- Elliott from "E.T") this character works really well and the information is imparted pretty seamlessly.
This character also has some history that aids the plot.
It is all very well done and paces out the horrors nicely.
Things turn nasty when the reason for the demonic activity is revealed.
I loved this part of the film - it reinvigorated my interest at a point when I was getting ever so slightly low in my seat.
I won't spoil it but let me just throw a quick phrase at you - Nazi Doctor!
 |
| The performances are all great but none more than Lulu Wilson as nine year old Doris |
Elizabeth Reaser is one of those actors whose face you know but name you probably don't.
I liked her work as a waitress in the tv show "Mad Men" but she has also been in the Twilight movies, True Detective, Liberal Arts and a bunch more films and tv shows.
As Alice she is required to bear the brunt of making everything believable. That I didn't think it odd that the family stayed in the house is down to some script machinations for sure but also on no small part due to her terrific work.
I also really liked what Henry Thomas brought to the film as Father Tom and Annalise Basso is very strong as Lina.
But there is a shining star here and it is Lulu Wilson as nine year old Doris - she with the devil inside her.
Wilson is seriously creepy and as much as it comes from contact lenses, gravity defying scuttles and leaps across walls and ceiling and jump scare appearances out of the darkness it also draws a lot from dialogue.
She has a doozy of scene describing that death by strangulation that I mentioned.
Director Mike Flanagan lets the bulk of it play out in one shot with a slow zoom onto Wilson's face as she gets to the nitty gritty of her story.
She is wonderful in this scene and indeed in every scene.
 |
| Ceiling walks, sleep whispering.... a little slice of the creepiness on offer |
I was a little disappointed with both movies and didn't find them as scary as the first Conjuring film but they both had their pulse pounding moments and plenty of invention in the shooting.
The latter is something that "Ouija: Origin of Evil" excels in - this is a marvellously well shot film with great lighting and inventive use of camera angles.
The violence is pretty restrained and it fits very comfortably into that M rating.
I haven't seen the first film so I cannot comment on the franchise-worthiness of the Ouija movies but based just on this one I would welcome another round.
This to me is far more fun that both "Lights Out" and "The Blair Witch" and has far sharper writing than "The Conjuring 2".
Mike Flanagan has already impressed with "Oculus" and is currently shooting the Stephen King film "Gerald's Game" which I am super keen to what he does with.
Clearly he is a director to watch but I am most excited to see how Lulu Wilson's career progresses - if the talent she displays here is any indication we are in for some fine, fine work from her.
* stay until the credits have finished too -there is a bonus scene right at the end
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