C.R. Langille
Follow Me
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About C.R. Langille / Press Kit
  • Published Works
  • Contact
  • Shop

Ouija: Origin of Evil Movie Review

10/31/2016

1 Comment

 
Picture
I recently watched the movie, Ouija: Origin of Evil and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It’s not perfect, mind you, but it had a number of interesting elements that spoke to something buried deep down in the dark recesses of my mind. I’ll set the scene first, then we’ll get into the review.
 
The movie is set in the ‘60’s in Los Angeles and centers on a widowed woman and her two daughters. The mother plays as a medium, offering to channel spirits for those willing to pay a price. However, the whole thing is a hoax with the woman enlisting the aid of her two daughters to help with certain effects in order to convince the suckers...er…clients, that what is happening is real.
 
The father died in an apparent car accident and all the family members deal with his death in different ways. The youngest daughter prays to him every night in a conversationalist tone, the mother keeps everything stuffed down deep and withdraws from religion, and the oldest daughter rebels in the most cliché of teen ways: sneaking out, drinking, etc…
 
It’s the oldest daughter's rebellion that leads us to the titular set piece of the story, the Ouija board. While sneaking out one night, her friends play with an Ouija board and nothing happens. The girls get busted and the teen daughter has to take the awkward ride home with the mom and we get some exposition, during which the teen says, hey, you should get an Ouija board for the business.
 
Of course the mother does, otherwise, this would be a fairly lame Ouija board movie with no real Ouija board. This is where things start to get a little interesting. The first time the mom starts using the board the youngest daughter who is upstairs and in a completely different room at the time goes into a trance and begins answering all the questions the mother asks.
 
The movie starts to ramp up and the little girl begins to use the board more and more, even by herself. She begins  to show some true ability and even channels what appears to be the father (however, any horror movie critic worth his/her salt will know that this is utter bullshit).
 
Things ramp when the girl gets more and more addicted to using the board thinking she’s talking to her father. Strange things start happening in the house which I think are included just for bullshit jump scare factor (more on that later). Lo, and behold the girls go to a catholic school, which is where we meet their principal who happens to be a priest. It’s when he comes over that things really pick up and get awesome. I don’t want to spoil it too much, but it has an Evil Dead feel without the campiness.
Picture
​First, let’s get through some of the bad points of the film and then I’ll end it with the high points. Jump scares are bullshit. I understand why they are included in horror movies, but they are cheap. This movie was chock full of jump scares, many of which didn’t really do anything to move the plot forward. Second, the movie is somewhat predictable. I pretty much knew when things were going to happen before they would, to include parts that were supposed to be surprises. It could be due to the fact that I’ve been inundated with horror since a young age, but come on, Hollywood, let’s think outside the box. Third, the first 2/3rds of this movie are kind of slow. It takes awhile to really get moving, but when it does, oh man, does it get moving. Fourth, there are some things explained near the end by the priest that feel a little too much like a bad info-dump, and a little too convenient. Apparently, the little girl writes some stuff down while possessed by one of the spirits, and writes it all in Polish (not a spoiler, that part is in the trailer). There just so happens to be a nun at the school that is from Poland and also knows some backstory as to what’s happening. I won’t spoil it, but I did roll my eyes at that part.
Picture
​Which brings us to the good points of the film. The last 3rd of the movie is awesome. It’s dark and creepy. They do some things in this movie that talk to the little dark creature in my body that helps me write horror. I even felt like it was an alternate universe me writing an Ouija board movie for a moment. They play around a lot with extra-wide grins and mouths and off-color eyes which are almost a staple of any of my horror stories. I also felt like the writers kind of knew some of the bad cliches that occur (i.e. not sending away other people to try and keep them from danger, not splitting up, etc…) and actually addressed them in the story. At one point the mother is trying to send her older daughter out of the house to keep her safe and the daughter responds by saying, “that’s my sister down there and I’m not leaving her.” Might not be the best explanation or reason, but at least they had a reason to not send her away. Near the end of the movie, keep your eyes on the background. This movie is similar to Insidious where a lot of the creepy stuff happens in the background. I love it when a movie does that because it’s subtle but effective. 
Picture
Overall, this was an entertaining movie and worth a watch. I liked a lot of the stylistic elements in the film and it’s one of the better horror movies to come out in a while. Is it amazing? No. But it was good. I give 3 1/2 out of 5 planchettes. 
1 Comment
vidmate.onl/ link
7/15/2022 08:10:54 am

s for sharing the article, and more importantly, your personal experience mindfully using our emotions as data about our inner state and knowing when it’s better to de-escalate by taking a time out are great tools. Appreciate you reading and sharing your story since I can certainly relate and I think others can to

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    C.R. Langille writes horror, fantasy, urban-fantasy, dark fantasy, and is considering stepping into the sci-fi realm. He has a grasp of survival techniques, and has been a table-top gamer for over 16 years.

    Archives

    October 2022
    March 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    October 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Author Interview
    Book Release
    Book Review
    Bushcraft Interview
    Conventions
    Cross Promotion
    Dark Tyrant
    Game Review
    Gamer Interview
    Gaming
    Horror
    Hunter Interview
    Hunting
    Movie Review
    Stokercon2017
    Survival
    Tales From The Storm
    Training
    Women In Horror Month
    Writing

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly