So, yet another film based on a board game from Universal? Well, we all remember what happened with BATTLESHIP, right?
Well it seems history won't repeat itself this time. OUJIA 2: ORIGIN OF EVIL is, in fact, a sequel to the succesful OUIJA movie that came out a couple years ago (and that we all promptly forgot existed). I guess it helps that horror films seem to be killing it this year (if the recent successes of LIGHTS OUT, CONJURING 2, and DON'T BREATHE are any indication). Also that they didn't spend a gajillion dollars on it probably didn't hurt either.
This new film is set in the '70s, which I think gives it a unique vibe (I also appreciate the retro-Universal logo at the beginning). It's about a young girl whose mother is a charlatan psychic that buys a Ouija board to drum up business. However, when the girl tries to use the Ouija board to find her dead father, she instead finds a weird, goo monster (?) that possesses her and makes her all evil and MUMMY-mouthed.
Here's the trailer to see for yourself:
There's actually some good stuff in there, even if it's all a bit too CGI-ified (I'm all for CG, but it's not always the best tool when you're obviously working on a lower budget). But ultimately the Ouija conceit is one that's just too much for me to buy in, and even the stuff that's good is still overly-derivative (i.e. the mouth effect straight out of the Stephen Sommers MUMMY films).
But if you're looking for some cheap thrills on a date or something, it doesn't look terrible. Might even be fun (again, the '70s vibe is cool at least). Hell, it might even be good!
So you guys feeling this? And any scary Ouija stories?
OUIJA 2: ORIGIN OF EVIL will be released in theaters October 21, 2016 – just in time for Halloween!