A definite improvement on the first film

Mike Flanagan's prequel to the disappointing (but profitable) Ouija (2014) plays a little loose with the continuity - although I don't think anyone will lose much sleep over that. We get Flanagan's trademark damaged family, here coming to terms with the loss of a much loved husband and father. The widow - assisted by her two young daughters - makes a small living providing fake 'psychic readings' and seances for the gullible and/or recently bereaved.

Flanagan always nails his casting. Leads Elizabeth Reaser (the mum), Annalise Basso (the elder daughter), Lulu Wilson (the younger daughter), and Henry Thomas (Father Hogan) are all perfect. And whilst the script takes some big leaps here and there, the story is solid. A minus is that Flanagan has a tendency to show too much of his ghosts, removing some of the creepiness (he does the same in his Netflix show The Haunting of Hill House); less is, as they say, more. The score by regular collaborators The Newton Brothers is effectively eerie. The third act doesn't quite live up to the first two - perhaps hampered by a need to connect to the first film - but overall it's enjoyable. 7/10