Ouija: Origin of Evil Improves on Its Predecessor With Doris’s Slow Possession

Ouija: Origin of Evil opens in 1967 Los Angeles, where Alice Zander runs a séance scam out of her suburban home. She has two daughters, Paulina and Doris, and a dead husband named Roger. When Alice adds a Ouija board to her act, she thinks she’s calling in a customer. What she gets is a spirit named Marcus, and it takes Doris.

Mike Flanagan directs from a script he co-wrote with Jeff Howard, and the film plays as a prequel to the 2014 original. It stars Elizabeth Reaser as Alice, Lulu Wilson as Doris, Annalise Basso as Paulina, and Henry Thomas as Father Tom Hogan, the school principal who helps the family. The setup is simple: a family business, a haunted board, a girl possessed. The execution is tighter than its predecessor.

Trailer, via Universal Pictures.

Alice and Her Business

Alice is the engine of the film. Reaser sells her grief and her ambition in equal measure. She believes the board is talking to Roger, and she wants the evidence. That belief is the spine of the movie. When Doris starts acting out, Alice holds on to the idea that the spirit is her late husband. That faith is what makes the threat feel personal, not abstract.

Doris’s Possession

Doris is the center of the action. Wilson plays her with a mix of fear and defiance that keeps the film grounded even as the supernatural elements pile up. The possession builds slowly, through tantrums and strange writing, until it becomes impossible to ignore. The film trusts its audience to sit with the dread before the payoff.

Father Tom’s Visit

Father Tom Hogan shows up early in the film and stays with it. Thomas plays him as a man who wants to help but can’t shake the feeling that the family has crossed a line. His séance scene is the film’s best moment. He asks questions about his dead wife, Gloria, and gets answers that weren’t there. That moment sets the stage for the film’s central reveal: Marcus is a spirit who was captured during World War II and experimented on in the very basement where the family lives.

The Secret Compartment

The film’s turning point comes when Doris finds a hidden compartment in the basement wall. Inside is a pouch of cash. Alice takes it, and the family’s fortunes shift. The money is the trigger that pushes Doris further into possession. It’s a simple device, but it works because the film has spent its time building trust with the audience.

The Polish Papers

Paulina finds papers written by Doris in fluent Polish, a language Doris doesn’t know. She brings them to Father Tom, who reads them aloud. Those pages belong to Marcus, the spirit who has been watching the family since they moved in. The papers are the key to understanding what Marcus wants, and why he chose Doris. It’s a clever way to give the audience information the family doesn’t have.

The Post-Credit Cameo

Lin Shaye returns as a post-credit cameo. It’s a small touch, but it ties the film to the franchise’s past. It also leaves the door open for future installments.

The Critic’s Reception

The film earned a 6.5 out of 10 from critics. That reception was a step up from the first film, which drew mixed responses. Critics praised the tighter writing and stronger performances, especially from Wilson and Reaser. The film’s focus on family dynamics, rather than jump scares, helped it stand apart from the usual haunted-board formula.

What Works

• The slow build of Doris’s possession
• Father Tom’s school principal role
• The Polish papers as a narrative device
• The family’s grief as the emotional core

What Falls Short

The film leans on familiar horror tropes, and some of the scares rely on cheap jumps rather than genuine dread. The ending feels rushed, and the resolution doesn’t fully resolve the mystery of Marcus’s motives. Still, the film commits to its characters enough that those flaws don’t sink it.

Ouija: Origin of Evil is a competent, occasionally strong horror film that improves on its predecessor by focusing on family and grief rather than pure fright. It’s a solid entry in a franchise that has struggled to find its footing. The score is 6.5 out of 10.

2017 films · horror · movie review · Ouija · possession