Ouija: Origin of Evil (15)

Directed by Mike Flanagan

Set in 1967 Los Angeles, this prequel to the 2014 Ouija packs a slow-burning punch with plenty of scares and jumps along the way, including the obligatory creepy possessed child.

The spooky events unfold in the same house as in the original film where the owner, widow and mother of two Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) decides to add a ouija board to her fortune-telling and seance scam.

But when she and her daughters Doris (Lulu Wilson) and Lina (Annalise Basso) break the sacred rules of the game, they let all spirit-hell Reaser and Basso give strong and credible performances but it is Wilson who steals the show with her chilling stare and her disturbing portrayal of a possessed kid.

This provides the back story to the deadly ghosts in the first film but with greater style and thought. Yet the film's main problem is that it's too smart and complicated for its own good, particularly in the final reveal which doesn't make a lot of sense.

Enjoyable nevertheless and you don't have to have seen Ouija to fully enjoy this prequel.

Review by Maria Duarte