Allspark Pictures, Blumhouse Productions, Hasbro,
Henry Thomas, Annalise Basso, Elizabeth Reaser, Lulu Wilson, Parker Mack, Sam Anderson, Kate Siegel, Doug Jones
The Zander Family is having a rough time. Dad was killed by a drunk driver leaving Mom, Alice (Elizabeth Reaser) alone with two girls, Lina (Annalise Basso) and Doris (Lulu Wilson). They are struggling to pay the bills by offering psychic services like readings and seances, when Alice realizes her youngest daughter Doris may actually have the gift for real. Alice really wants to help people, perhaps to help herself with her loss, but is it really friendly spirits, or does their home have a much more sinister past than they are aware. Messing with spirits is asking for trouble, and they have a lot on the way.
This film is a prequel to the 2014 film Ouija starring Oliva Cook and Ana Coto [Click here for Ed’s Review] . If you haven’t seen or can’t remember Ouija, this is a good time to rewatch it, as this is the story what happened in the house about 50 years earlier. This story gives us the background on when the characters in the original movie were kids, and what happened to them so that the original films make more sense. This film is a bit better, although I really did enjoy the first one as well, but now the whole thing makes a lot more sense to me. The first one was kind of random, which a lot of people didn’t care for. This one is a formula film, and it’s produced by Michael Bay so there’s a lot of activity going on here. Henry Thomas, who I haven’t seen in a long time, is here as a Priest who presides over the daughter’s school and is trying to help them. When he’s on screen, he’s really good, but it’s not a huge part. The girls are excellent and really pull it off, especially the younger girl Doris. The film is really creepy and scary, but the weakness is probably the predictability of the story. It goes where you expect, and there aren’t many real surprises in the plot. But it does take place in the late 60’s which was a nice change, visiting my youth for a little while. I find it hard to think of the 60’s as a period piece, but I have to admit I’m really getting old! But the 60’s vibe was strong. All in all, I really enjoyed this film, and thought it was a decent Halloween Horror film. I liked the way it fit in with other movie, and that made it more enjoyable for me. If you’re a fan of horror, this is a really good one.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
