NEW BLOOD: OUIJA ORIGIN OF EVIL

OUIJA ORIGIN OF EVIL
Universal
2016 Color
99 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Annalise Basso, Elizabeth Reaser, Lulu Wilson,  Henry Thomas and Parker Mack star.
Written and Directed by Mike Flanagan
Rated PG-13 for language, violence and gore.

Who would have known that a sequel to Hasbro's guilty pleasure Ouija could spawn such an effective, original, inspired horror prequel. The movie takes place in 1967. Elizabeth Rease (Twilight) stars as Alice Zander a widowed mother who makes her money as a scam Medium. She ends up bringing an Ouija board home which is the new craze inspired by her daughter Lina played by the wonderful Annalise Basso (Oculus). Soon after her youngest daughter Doris begins communing with her dead father as well as spirits in the house which leads to disastrous results. Trust me you've never seen a possession like this, it's nightmarish. What separates "Origin" from the infinite horde of cinematic possession/Ouija garbage is Flannagan's classic execution. 

He takes the subject matter very seriously and gives the proceedings a much needed heft. The atmosphere throughout the film is thick with dread. When watching the trailers and seeing yet another creepy child I rolled my eyes, because they are just not just scary too me. Butt I take that back Lulu Wilson's Doris is horrific. She delivers her lines with a uncomfortable and disturbing zest. It all culminates with a shocking non mainstream ending that left me in awe. The rest of the cast offer solid performances as well. Reaser has never been better, she gives Alice layers uncommon in films like this. 

It's nice to see Henry Thomas on the big screen again, he's been missed and Parker Mack is handsome and delivers his lines with a flirty old school charm. As the movie progresses towards it's cringe worthy finale the scares gets more and more aggressive making for a truly memorable and nightmarish watch. 

Although not perfect I hoped for a bit more character development and the film can be a bit of a slow burn at times but "Origin" fares much better than Flanagan's Oculus which was a bit over hyped in my opinion.  Four movies have scared the crap out of me in my life. The Conjuring is still the scariest film I've ever seen, The original Insidious, Session 9 and this. This is without a doubt one of the scariest films I've ever seen. I'm not sure it will find a big audience in theaters because it's so dark, especially surprising considering it's PG-13 rating. But make no mistake this is one hell of a scary movie. ****.25/5