With Doctor Sleep being released next month I thought it was high time I caught Ouija: Origin Of Evil, which is also directed by Mike Flanagan.

And it’s a pretty good movie–and plays like a prequel to The Haunting Of Hill House that came two years later; an impression encouraged by Origin Of Evil starring Elisabeth Reaser and Henry Thomas.

And it’s MUCH, MUCH better than 2014’s Ouija.

Which is oddly part of its problem (a small, niggling one but a problem nonetheless) namely it’s much better than the original movie, but judged on it’s own merits it also works, though not quite as well as it weren’t a sequel to a pretty not so good movie.

Its most significant issue is the family dynamics that make up the first part of the movie. They’re not bad and the actors acquit themselves well, though they’re a bit clunky (Lulu Wilson feels less like a child initially than a young actress who happens to be a child. It’s not a bad performance, just not entirely convincing, which is a pity because when things get really weird things would have resonated more if she had felt more genuine).

That being said, when things get weird, they get really WEIRD though a bit jump scarier than you typically get from a Mike Flanagan horror film.

It’s less the quality of the scares than once they start coming, they begin to overstay their welcome and lack variety though overall Ouija: Origin Of Evil is a worthy addition to Flanagan’s filmography.