Pjtaylor-96-138044 'Ouija: Origin Of Evil (2016)' takes almost an hour for the various elements to come together into something that starts to seem scary, with the sinister stuff sticking to the periphery until an exposition scene that marks the start of the scare-filled final act, and the ending seems to rush itself along to a predetermined conclusion in a way which suggests the filmmakers weren't quite sure where their narrative was heading until they decided they had to tie it in to the first instalment (which I haven't seen due to its reputation as one of the worst horror films of recent years) in a meaningful way. Still, this is a visually interesting and character-driven horror feature that is well-directed and doesn't rely on jump-scares to entertain its audience. It is styled to look like a film from the 1960s, complete with the old universal logo and intermittent cue marks, so it stands out from the crowd with a colourful texture not often seen in today's colour-corrected world, though some of the visual effects end up looking a little bit ropy at times perhaps more so because they stand out from the otherwise analogue aesthetic. There's still the niggling sense that the concept isn't entirely sound, though, considering it is based upon a Hasbro-owned board-game that shows up and somehow coincidentally causes the spirits, which have supposedly been in the house for a long time before the board, to start to show themselves. 6/10

GL84 Trying to operate their illegal scam service, a widow and her teenage daughters running fake seances for rich clients find themselves in real trouble when an innocent game with an ouija board turns into a nightmare when they unleash a terrible evil and must stop it before it takes her over.This was quite a fun and thrilling supernatural effort. What really gives this one a lot to like is the rather strong and striking action played out throughout the film. The opening seance scene where the off-screen noises and shadows around the room lead to a belief in the supernatural that eventually turns out to be a part of their scam service gives this a strong start, while there's more to like about the way this one targets the daughters as the haunting scenes grow far more dangerous throughout the film. Many of these occur through the seance scenes that are placed in here, which allows this to take full advantage of its premise with the kids playing with the board on several occasions in brief, rather fun spurts to help sell their supernatural plight. Adding to the scares is the rather heartwarming factor brought into play when they realize the true nature of their ghostly visitors coming along to help them as the scene where they all see the game-play by itself and see what's been going on the entire time. By the time it changes into the more deadly and dangerous setups later on, they generate more of an impression as the frantic scenes of her getting manipulated by the ghosts in her room, the disfigurement dream she has with her sister and the series of behavioral outbursts that slowly seem to suggest something is happening to them. Once it really throws the idea of the possession into full-force, this becomes much more fun with the events inside the basement at the end which are a lot of fun and manage to really work out some fun ideas, from the revelation of the house's history and how the daughter connects to it all to the chilling supernatural action that occurs in the basement which gives this a really frantic finale. While these here work nicely for the film, it does have a few rather prominent flaws. The main issue here is the fact that there's just not a whole lot of interest in what happens in the first half. The fact that this one goes through the idea of their scam business and then moves on to their other plight really doesn't leave this one with a whole lot of interest as it simply drags on far longer than it really should. Some of the problems are based on the fact that very little of what happens here is really all that scary, as this is content to have her worry about her imaginary friends and play with the board which doesn't generate any kind of real thrills. This does lead to a longer start-up that expected and gives this a longer running time than what should really be required here. As well, the film's rating doesn't really let it go the type of extremes this could've generated as many of the scenes are the typical type found here and don't really generate much else here beyond these jump- scare setups. Beyond these issues, it doesn't have a lot else wrong.Rated PG-13: Violence, Language and children-in-jeopardy.

Spikeopath A sequel that's a prequel that's actually better than what preceded it! Ouija: Origin of Evil is an above average chiller that's a fine scary ride for those not expecting boundary pushing.Standard rules apply here, widowed mum and two daughters who dabble in the con of seance profiteering get more than they bargained for when they introduce a Ouija board to proceedings.Director Mike Flanagan knows how to construct a good honest scare piece (see Oculus and Hush), and so it proves here. The atmosphere is constantly set at impending dread, the tension slow built until pic goes into overdrive. Unfortunately so many horror films of the decade are reliant on the demon formula to fill out their respective tales, so much so it has become jaded and utterly unsurprising.This hurts this picture and it runs away with itself, rendering the big final quarter - complete with emotional baggage - as something of a let down; though the final shot has goosebump value for sure. Hadrcore horror buffs will find irritants and emptiness, but for those who dip in and out of the genre should find a quick chill to fill a fright gap. 6/10

Michael Ledo The film takes place in 1967 Los Angeles (IMDB claims 1965) where Alice (Elizabeth Reaser) performs scam seances for money, something she has been doing since her husband Roger died. (Michael Weaver) She allows her two Catholic school daughters to help her. Then enter a Ouija board, possession, Tubular Bells style music, a priest, and a little girl with an odd voice... very formula up until the ending which they just scrambled around until no one was happy with it.In spite of the formula writing, the actors did a good job to raise the level of a less than stellar script, especially young Lulu Wilson who has a flair for horror. She will be in "Annabella 2." Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.