I'm not planning for themes as I watch movies that have been sitting on my "to watch" list but sometimes it just happens. Such was the case this week as I finally got around to checking out ANOTHER Mike Flanagan film, this time Ouija Origin of Evil and the 1980 low-budget grindhouse classic The Children. Spooky kids is a nice little horror movie trope, much better than creepy clowns in my opinion, but its not about what you got, its what you do with it. So how did these two films do?
If you felt it too, you know what I mean. If not, this title card basically says this will be a family drama with some nice, creepy scares. On that, the film delivers. It has scenes so perfectly filmed as homages to the era they almost seem cut and pasted. Not the most flattering way to put it, but I'm going to give Flanagan a pass because considering the source material it was a risk to do something stylish. Origin of Evil's strength is its style, the acting, and the cinematography. The scene of teens using the Ouija board with psychedelic lighting (this takes place in the sixties) reflecting off a pool and their groovy clothes all awash in the shimmering light is just one of the most damn good looking things I've ever seen in a Blumhouse film. Origin of Evil is worth a watch. It's a well acted and shot film with some good PG-13 scares. Not the best, most cohesive plot, and the constant twists of who gets possessed by the spirits gets a bit repetitive and predictable, but this is the closest I've come so far to a fright film a family could enjoy together after the little ones are in bed. But make sure you check up on them afterwards. They might have swallowed a demon or something while you were out buying toilet paper. Ouija: Origin of Evil GradesGeneral Horror Fans: B Jump Scare Fans: A Creepy Vibe Fans: B Gore Hounds: F Yours Truly: B+
The Children GradesGeneral Horror Fans: C-
Jump Scare Fans: D Creepy Vibe Fans: C Gore Hounds: C+ Yours Truly: C
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T.E.DickasonFantasy/Science Fiction writer, 1920s time traveler, star and shoegazer. Archives
May 2020
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