From the look of things, the budding Ouija franchise is pulling a Conjuring with its upcoming sequel, Ouija: Origin of Evil. Where the original film, released in 2014 to modest box office success, was set in modern times, with a gaggle of tweeting teens getting bumped off by specters, the sequel will go back to 1965 to see a kind of origin story of how the Ouija board originally became a portent of evil.

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Image via Universal Pictures

You can't exactly blame the creators of the film for this tactic, as it gives the entire film a new look and dialect while also staying close to the general tone and story of the first film. Still, with major horror works from Rob Zombie (31) and Adam Wingard (Blair Witch) on the horizon, the new trailer for the sequel, which you can take a look at below, doesn't exactly make this latest retread feel urgent or unique. We'll know better when the film hits theaters on October 21st.


Here's the new trailer for Ouija: Origin of Evil:

Here's the official synopsis for Ouija: Origin of Evil:

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.

 

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), alongside Hasbro’s Brian Goldner (Transformers and G.I. Joe series) and Stephen Davis (Ouija).  Mike Flanagan directs from a screenplay he wrote with his Oculus and Before I Wake collaborator, Jeff Howard, and Universal will distribute the film worldwide.

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Image via Universal Pictures

ouija-2-origin-of-evil-image
Image via Universal Pictures