Good ol’ Ouija. The 2014 PG-13 horror flick co-produced by Hasbro was a pretty easy target for jokes about how any ol’ thing will be a movie. “What’s next? A MONOPOLY MOVIE?” we all laughed until we remembered that one’s been in development hell for a while now and there’s also a Broadway musical on the way. Not helping its reputation much was the avalanche of awful reviews that accompanied its release, but Ouija made over $100 million on a $5 million budget and you don’t need a spirit board to know that a second film would be on the way. The upside is that this one looks pretty darn intriguing.
The trailer for Ouija: Origin of Evil has arrived just in time for all of us to have an angry meltdown in front of our games closet. Origin of Evil serves as a prequel to the first film and operates with a new cast and a new director. This go-around Mike Flanagan (who helmed the absorbing and underrated horror picture Occulus) is in the director’s chair and the events take place in 1965 Los Angeles. Here’s how Universal sums up the upcoming offering:
It was never just a game. Inviting audiences again into the lore of the spirit board, Ouija: Origin of Evil tells a terrifying new tale as the follow-up to 2014’s sleeper hit that opened at number one. In 1965 Los Angeles, a widowed mother and her two daughters add a new stunt to bolster their séance scam business and unwittingly invite authentic evil into their home. When the youngest daughter is overtaken by the merciless spirit, this small family confronts unthinkable fears to save her and send her possessor back to the other side.
The first preview is a promising one. There’s personality, a fun séance scam element, and a scary moppet named Doris. Consider us intrigued, but keep that f*cking board out of our homes. Ouija: Origin of Evil is scheduled to arrive in theaters on October 21.
