The original Ouija (2014) was a critical disaster—generic, jump-scare-laden, and forgettable. When Universal announced a prequel, few expected much. Enter Mike Flanagan ( The Haunting of Hill House , Doctor Sleep ). Flanagan took a studio-mandated cash grab and injected it with genuine pathos, period-authentic dread, and his signature slow-burn emotional horror.

Ouija: Origin of Evil is one of the rare horror movies where the prequel completely outshines the original film.

Set in 1967 Los Angeles, the film follows Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser), a widowed mother running a seance scam out of her suburban home to support her two daughters, Paulina (Annalise Basso) and Doris (Lulu Wilson). To bolster her business, Alice introduces a new prop to her act: a Ouija board. Unwittingly, she invites an authentic, malevolent spirit into her home that possesses her youngest daughter, Doris.