Take note, The Conjuring and Insidious movie franchises. Ouija: Origin of Evil is how one makes a movie about possession without dumbing it down with cliches and stripping it of any possible logic. When a charlatan ghost whisperer's (Elizabeth Reaser, whose 1960s style makes the decade look sexy again) youngest daughter Doris (Lulu Wilson) becomes possessed by an evil spirit as a result of including the Ouija board in her "rituals", both mother and older sister (Annalise Basso) begin to suspect a presence of an otherworldly entity. They seek the help of a trustworthy priest (Henry Thomas, aged gracefully since his breakout role in 1982's E.T.), and that's when the movie shifts into a higher gear that it never quite lets up from. The shots of young Wilson contorting her face in order to express the demon inside her are truly frightening, and the bold ending doesn't play up to its audiences expectations as most movies of this sub-genre tend to. The very last scene, set in a psychiatric hospital, is very imaginative and original, and hopefully is a set up for equally challenging sequels ahead. Ouija: Origin of Evil is a product of bold writing by Jeff Howard and Mike Flanagan (the latter also directed this movie with a singular vision worthy of admiration). If you saw the original from 2014 and - most likely - hated that movie, don't be discouraged, and check out this much superior sequel (or is it prequel?). It will haunt you for days.
B+
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