10 Horror Movies That Weren't What Anyone Expected
4. Ouija: Origin of Evil
Considering that 2014's Ouija was one of the worst studio-backed horror films of the 2010s, there wasn't much reason to expect anything good from 2016's prequel, Ouija: Origin of Evil. This was surely just a rushed-out follow-up, intending to cash in on the iconography of the Ouija board and stonking box office success of the previous film, critical scorn be-damned.
What few knew going into the prequel is that it just so happened to be directed by a certain rising filmmaker called Mike Flanagan, who had started making a name for himself with his well-received prior horror movies Oculus and Hush.
The result was a picture that improved upon the previous one in every way. Flanagan's tight directing ensured the visual storytelling, atmosphere, and performances were vastly superior, not to ignore the strength of his character-driven writing.
Hell, Ouija: Origin of Evil was even good enough that it actually made the terrible original feel somewhat more worthwhile - a phenomenal achievement on Flanagan's part, and one that just about nobody saw coming.