Ouija: Origin of Evil

Set in Los Angeles in the late 1960s, Ouija: Origin of Evil centres on Alice Zander, a widowed mother who supports her two daughters, Paulina and Doris, by staging fake séances for paying clients. To keep the business going, the family adds a new gimmick involving a Ouija board, but the trick draws in something genuine and hostile. When young Doris falls under the control of a malevolent spirit, Alice and Paulina are forced to confront their fears to save her and drive the presence back where it came from.

The film is a horror feature directed by Mike Flanagan, who wrote the screenplay with Jeff Howard, and it stands between Before I Wake and Gerald's Game in Flanagan's filmography. Elizabeth Reaser plays Alice, with Annalise Basso as Paulina, Lulu Wilson as Doris and Henry Thomas as Father Tom. Michael Bay, Brian Goldner and Andrew Form served as producers, and the production involved Universal Pictures, Blumhouse Productions, Platinum Dunes and Allspark Pictures.

Made for a modest budget of nine million dollars, the film took in roughly eighty-two million dollars worldwide, a strong return for its cost. On IMDb it holds 6.2 out of 10 from around eighty-two thousand votes, and on TMDB it also sits at 6.2 out of 10 from a much smaller pool of roughly two thousand seven hundred votes. Critics gave it 6.5 out of 10 across 127 reviews, a slightly warmer reception than the audience scores suggest.