Playing with a ouija board as a kid is almost a rite of passage which was made of some friends asking spirits questions about the future, relationships and secrets. Although “Ouija 2: Origin of Evil” shows that there is nothing humorous or playful about the game, it also reminds the audience of themes presented in previous supernatural films. This film is repetitive and lacks any suspense or integral plot between the characters and within the story.

“Ouija 2: Origin of Evil” is a telling of what happened before the events within “Ouija” (2014).  Told as an origin story, it follows the possession of a young girl, Doris (Lulu Wilson, “The Millers”). The film shadows the family within the house after the passing of the father and husband of the house.

For audience members who have seen the first film, many already know the plot, from beginning to end. Within the first film, the story of the family is revealed and explained to the protagonist through the only survivor. This film, due to the details revealed within the previous installment, leave little, to no surprises for the viewer.

As to the performances of the actors within the film and the portrayal of characters, they are decent, but not believable. Elizabeth Reaser (“Hello My Name Is Doris”) plays a single mother who is struggling to make ends meet as she cons people to believe she is a psychic. Her daughter Lina, played by Annalise Basso (“Captain Fantastic”), is a young teenager who does not exactly see eye to eye with her mother’s methods.

They both portray their characters well within the first act of the film, although there does not seem to be much conflict between the two besides the threat of a high school crush of Lina’s. The most conflict between the characters arise when supernatural things start to happen with Doris the younger daughter, and Lina tries to warn her mother.

This film presented very little fresh material. Majority of the “scariest” scenes are very mild at most. Within the film, there is less than five jump scares for the audience to scream over. 

Almost everything that was presented within trailers and promotions prior to the film’s release, were the main scenes and actions within the film. Sitting through this film will leave audience members wondering if there is anything new that has not been shown before.

Throughout the film, there also is a lack of conflict development, whether it be between the characters, like Lina and her mother, or within the story itself. The father of the family is deceased within the film, which is touched on a few times in the film, however the plotline and conflict is quickly thrown away or  left underdeveloped.

The film also has another minor conflict, which is solved within a matter of minutes, which seems sort of too sudden and unreal. The main conflict where Doris is possessed is shrugged off by most characters until the last few scenes where Lina finally takes control of the situation. The conflicts are not the strongest point within this film.

Overall, between the film’s content being comprised of 90 percent of the promotional material, the plot being already explained within the first movie and the fact that the conflicts seemed underdeveloped, this film can be easily passed when seeking the next thrill ride at the theater. The only way this film is justifiable is if the viewer isn’t looking to be scared, and has not seen the predecessor of the film.