Reviews: Ouija 2 (2016) Movie Review
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Subgenres: Possession, Supernatural, Dangerous Exploration, Dysfunctional Family, Single Moms, Blumhouse
Exploring Ouija 2 (2016) through our review, we cover its story, scares, and how it fits into the broader horror genre landscape.
Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016) is a 1h 39-min PG-13 American supernatural horror-thriller film that is the prequel to Ouija (2014). Ouija: Origin of Evil had an estimated budget of $9 million and grossed over $21 million at the box office on its opening weekend. I was not overly excited to see Ouija: Origin of Evil because how poorly and forgettable Ouija (2014) was, but I am glad I gave it a chance because it was an unforgettable watch. Director and co-writer Mike Flanagan (Oculus (2013), Hush (2016), Absentia (2011)) has many talents up his sleeve, and I cannot wait to see all of them as I just saw some of them in this robust and entertaining horror movie.
Ouija: Origin of Evil is the prequel to the first film, Ouija (2014) and tells us how we came about to the events in Ouija. Origin of Evil starts off in 1964 where Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser - The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012), Young Adult (2011), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011)) is a single mother. Alice has two daughters, teenager Lina (Annalise Basso - Oculus (2013), Captain Fantastic (2016), Standing Up (2013)) and Doris (Lulu Wilson - The Millers (2014-2015), Deliver Us from Evil (2014)) who is 9-year-old. Alice was making money by working as a medium who perform readings and seances but was later found out to be faked. Alice lost her husband to a drunk driving accident and resorted to her daughters helping her to pull off elaborate tricks to fool customers into believing that they were communicating with people who has passed away.
Lina convinced her mother that they could use the Ouija Board in their readings/seances, but they must abide by the three rules of the board which is not to play alone, do not play in a graveyard, and you must always say goodbye. Alice did not know that it is not a good idea to bring the board into her home because the trouble that comes with it might be too much for her young family to handle. She decides to make a few adjustments to the board including adding magnets so that the planchette can move. Doris does not quite understand that her father is dead and still talks to him every night and began using the board by herself because she thinks that it is her father that she is speaking to. It did not take long for Doris to change and for the aura of the house to become darker as the time goes on.
Viewers can tell that the staff was inexperienced as their acting/performances were not outstanding in any way but we were able to care for the characters. I was disappointed to see the ending of the movie to be made so cheaply which made it look mediocre but that does not take away from the compelling chiller the movie was before the ending. The visual gags were effective as well as the tension, scares, suspense, thrills and jump scares were all done wonderfully. Ouija: Origin of Evil was not original in any way, but it was executed excellently with jump scares that had an impact and gave us darkness that sent chills up our spines. The efficient use of CGI was fantastic and did what it was supposed to do which was to provide us with the extra creepiness which was much needed and appreciated. Fans of Ouija will undoubtedly love this film and please do not leave before the ending credits. I would encourage everyone to give Ouija: Origin of Evil a chance because with all said, it was still an outstanding movie.
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Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Ouija 2 Rating Scores
- Our Score: 7/10
- Overall Score: 7.00/10
- IMDB: 6.2/10
- MetaCritic: 6.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 8.3/10
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Related Article: OUIJA 2: ORIGIN OF EVIL (2016) Ending Explained Video
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