A shady psychic and her two adorable daughters discover that a presence from the other side strenuously objects to her business practices. Those viewers with an interest in the fair-to-middling original
Ouija should find their lingering questions answered by this 1960s-set installment; sticking through the credits is advised. Everyone else, meanwhile, can just sit back and luxuriate in the infernal energy that director/co-writer Mike Flanagan (
Oculus,
Hush) brings on board, using the franchise to concoct a deliriously inventive possession movie, which leavens out the terrifically staged Pavlovian scares with healthy gobs of deadpan wit. (Dig the decade-appropriate camerawork and cigarette burns in the corner of the screen!) It’s been a great year for well-constructed horror (
Don’t Breathe,
The Conjuring 2,
The Shallows, etc.) but there’s some real playful master craftsmanship on display here, of the sort that jangles the viewer without leaving them feeling ill-used. Yes, you should definitely see this prequel to a movie based on a board game.
By
Andrew Wright