YOUNG HORROR `VETERANS' PLAY SISTERS IN “OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL”

Press release

Playing the pivotal roles of sisters who get embroiled in a demonic possession in Universal Pictures' Ouija: Origin of Evil are teen stars Lulu Wilson (Deliver Us from Evil) and Annalisse Basso (Oculus), who both have done horror films prior.

In the terrifying new tale and the follow-up to 2014’s sleeper hit Ouija, a widowed mother named Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) and her two daughters Doris (Wilson) and Lina (Basso) add a new stunt to bolster their séance scam business and unwittingly invite authentic evil into their home. When the youngest daughter Doris 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 filmmakers knew the role of Doris would be the most difficult to cast. “The script asks a lot from someone so young, so we auditioned countless actresses,” states director and screenwriter Mike Flanagan.

Lulu Wilson. (Photo credits: UIP/Columbia Pictures)

Young horror veteran Lulu Wilson, who had shown her chops in Deliver Us from Evil, was able to perfectly balance the innocence and evil of Doris. Recalls the director: “She prepared a monologue from the film where she explains in disturbing detail what it’s like to be strangled to death, and I almost fell off my chair. She was the only actress who didn’t deliver the dialogue in a frightening way. Instead, she delivered it casually, innocently and with a smile, which was such a sophisticated choice.”

When it came to her stunts, the actress also performed well beyond her years. “There’s a scene where Doris scales a wall, and we wanted Lulu instead of using one of Lulu’s stunt double in a wig,” recalls Flanagan. “She was fearless; the first time I saw her up the wall with a huge grin on her face, it was incredible.”

Adds Wilson, who remains in staunch admiration of her stunt doubles on set, “It was crazy, and I was a little nervous but not too much.”

While horror films are off limits for 10-year-old, she hopes her parents make an exception for Ouija: Origin of Evil. “I won’t let them get away without letting me watch it,” Wilson states determinedly.

Meanwhile, Flanagan penned the part of Doris’ older sister, the intelligent, strong-willed Lina, with Basso in mind. “I first worked in Oculus with Annalise when she was just 13, and I thought she was one of the finest actors I’d ever met,” he says. “I knew she was perfect for this part.”

Annalisse Basso

Basso was equally thrilled to team up with her Oculus filmmaker once again. “As a director, he gives you a specific vision and the freedom to interpret that vision,” commends Basso. “He always asks, ‘Do you want one more take?’ He’s so kind and aware of what you as a performer need on set.”

Lina’s layered character appealed to 16-year-old Basso. “We’re almost the same age, so I related to her struggle to find her own identity,” says the actress. “Lina is reckless, and I like that about her. I also admire her strength, which she learned after her father’s death, and how she uses those two qualities to stand up to her mother and the powerful spirits inside the house.”

Basso was also drawn to Lina’s love story with Mikey, a senior who’s interested in the sophomore for all the right reasons. “There’s a pure and wholesome connection between these two teenagers, which is a relationship you rarely see in horror movies,” says Basso. “They have a very sweet romance, but it’s complicated. She’s just starting to feel the first pangs of young love, while experiencing the consequences of losing someone you care for so much.”

Opening across the Philippines on Oct. 26, “Ouija: Origin of Evil” is distributed by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.

HORROR HITMAKER JASON BLUM PRODUCES “OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL”

Press release

When developing Ouija: Origin of Evil, Blumhouse Productions’ Jason Blum and Platinum Dunes’ Michael Bay, producers Brad Form and Andrew Fuller were excited to work with Hasbro Studios on the opportunity to expand dramatically the cryptic world of the mystical board. For this terrifying chapter that would explore the origin of evil in one small town, they would be trusting the franchise with a filmmaker known for work that is as innovative as it is heart-racing.

Photo credits: UIP/Columbia Pictures

Inviting audiences again into the lore of the spirit board this Halloween, Universal Pictures’ Ouija: Origin of Evil tells a terrifying new tale as the follow-up to 2014’s sleeper hit that opened at No. 1.

The production team approached visionary filmmaker Mike Flanagan, who created Blumhouse’s 2014’s hit Oculus and this year’s hold-your-breath thriller Hush. They gauged his interest in crafting a chapter that delved into so much more of the legend of the board…as well as putting his unique stamp on the series.

Flanagan felt it would be fascinating to explore the superstitious culture of the late 1960s’ Ouija for this chapter, as well as what secrets laid buried beneath one family’s home…only to be unlocked through the board. The horror maestro and his equally talented writing partner, Jeff Howard, imagined the tale of sisters Doris and Lina Zander, who grow terrified the more they learn about the family home they share with their mother, Alice.

Blum explains that when Alice begins using the Ouija board in her séances, she thinks it’s great for business. He notes: “In the beginning, Alice is not discovering anything evil, and it actually seems like it’s a great thing. She thinks that she’s performing this amazing service where—if you have someone in your life who’s gone—you can come use the Ouija board and connect with them. Through Doris you can talk to people who are no longer with us in this world. Initially it seems like it’s not only good for business, but good for people too.”

“There was a lot of discussion about making a direct sequel to the first film and expanding upon that narrative,” explains Form, “but that felt like the easy answer. When we took a hard look at the source material, we began to see that the story was right in front of us. Who was the real ‘DZ’ who was haunting our characters in the first movie, and what had been done to her so long ago that turned her into the twisted spirit seeking out revenge upon anyone who inhabited her home?”

Fuller, who serves as Bay and Form’s production partner at Platinum Dunes, shares how the film’s dramatic themes appeal to a broad base of moviegoers, and that it was of utmost importance to all involved to make this a story about a broken family…and not just a ghost story. “If you strip away the supernatural elements, you’ll find a family going through something extremely tragic and then extremely frightening,” he says. “Audiences who wouldn’t necessarily seek out a horror film will connect to this character-driven story.”

So notes Form, a thriller centered on a Ouija board made the perfect vehicle for relatable horror. “The idea that we could wrap a film around this intense desire to contact those on the other side was irresistible, and Ouija boards are so specific to that,” he concludes. “Even people who don’t believe in spirits have such a strong reaction to the game. This game has the power to turn non-believers into believers, even if only for a moment.”

Opening across the Philippines on Oct. 26, “Ouija: Origin of Evil” is distributed by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.

“OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL” TELLS NEW, TERRIFYING HORROR STORY

Press release

It was never just a game.

Inviting audiences again into the lore of the spirit board, this Halloween, Universal Pictures’ Ouija: Origin of Evil—from Platinum Dunes and Blumhouse—tells a terrifying new tale as the follow-up to 2014’s sleeper hit that opened at No. 1.

Photo courtesy of UIP/Columbia Pictures

In 1967 Los Angeles, widowed mother Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser of the Twilight franchise) adds a new stunt to bolster her séance scam business and unwittingly invites authentic evil into her home. When the merciless spirit overtakes youngest daughter Doris (Lulu Wilson of Deliver Us from Evil), this small family confronts unthinkable fears to save her and send her possessor back to the other side.

A year and a half after her husband was killed, financially strapped Alice finds herself raising 15-year-old Paulina (“Lina”) (Annalise Basso of Oculus) and 9-year-old Doris alone.

Fortunately for her struggling business, the occult runs in Alice’s blood. Her mother was a fortuneteller and passed down the tricks of the trade, allowing Alice to put on an extravagant sideshow for clients who wish to speak with lost loved ones. The aspiring clairvoyant doesn’t feel she’s a fraud. Instead, she believes she’s peddling closure—the elusive kind she prays to find for herself.

With mounting unpaid bills, Alice purchases a Ouija board to spice up her charade and rivet her customers. But once the game is brought into her home, strange things begin to happen: inexplicable noises, daily nightmares and, most disturbing of all, Doris actually starts communicating with the dead, including her father.

Initially, the revelations seems like a gift. Alice’s business booms and clients find comfort connecting to those who have passed on, until the true history of the house is unearthed. Decades prior, a deranged surgeon performed grotesque experiments on mental patients under the same roof. Now, to make their screams of anguish heard, one of the tortured has taken possession of Doris.

The girls’ school principal’s, Father Tom (Henry Thomas of Gangs of New York), deep concern for Alice’s family leads him to investigate the case. But when the four of them must face a supernatural power (Doug Jones of Pan's Labyrinth) for which even the priesthood could not prepare Tom, they will see that the spirits who’ve opened the portal have no intention of closing it without a deadly fight.

Ouija: Origin of Evil is produced by Platinum Dunes partners MICHAEL BAY, BRAD FULLER and ANDREW FORM (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Purge series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Blumhouse Productions’ JASON BLUM (The Purge and Insidious series, upcoming Get Out), alongside Hasbro’s BRIAN GOLDNER (Transformers and G.I. Joe series) and STEPHEN DAVIS (Ouija).

MIKE FLANAGAN (Oculus, Hush) directs from a screenplay he wrote with his Oculus and Before I Wake collaborator, Jeff Howard.

Opening across the Philippines on Oct. 26, “Ouija: Origin of Evil” is distributed by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.