Went to the cinema today to see
Ouija: Origin of Evil. The sequel (or rather, prequel) no one wanted to the horror flick no one liked, but which has turned out to be a somewhat unexpected critical darling. Though perhaps it shouldn't have been too unexpected, as this one (unlike the original) is co-written and directed by Mike Flanagan, whose track record includes the low-budget but excellent Absentia and the excellent 2013 Karen Gillan horror flick Oculus (he's also done a home invasion thriller called Hush this year which is not out here yet) and who is rapidly becoming my favourite modern horror director. A widow and fake medium conducts her "sessions" with the aid of her two daughters, one teenage (and played by the same young actress who played the young Karen Gillan in Oculus, funnily enough) and the other a little girl. One day the mother decides to bring home one of these newfangled ouija boards to spice up her act, but unknown to her, her youngest decides to play with it alone at night. And something decides to start answering back, and it ain't interested in playing 20 Questions. Needless to say, things start going rapidly downhill for the family after that... I totally dug this movie, from the excellent cast (which includes an all growed up Henry "ET" Thomas as the family's increasingly concerned priest) to the slow-burn tension and mood, to the whole 60s atmosphere and iconography (which even includes the use of the old Universal logo at the start of the film and "cigarette burns" to indicate reel changes throughout). Love a bit of period stuff (anything to get away from the 21st century I guess!). I shall certainly be getting this on Blu ray, which is the first time I've said that since The Conjuring 2, and I actually think I even liked this a little more. I really enjoyed this!
