Director Mike Flanagan chats to us about making a sequel to Ouija, and those Halloween rumours… Mike Flanagan has very quickly become a bit of a star in the horror world, and deservedly so.

His films are brilliantly well-made, his ideas are complex, and hes got great storytelling instincts.

And, for what its worth, hisOuijasequel is actually a prequel, being set in the late 60s.

Tell me if Im mad.

Did you really do that?

Ad content continues below

I knew it!

Yeah, we really went for that.

Its definitely very subtle but I could feel the little bit of weave and jump in there and everything.

But… well, come on.

Its been so long since Ive seen one.

Youre a madman but I love it.

We couldnt have specific audio carry over with feel.

But thats genuinely where all of the reel changes fell in the edit.

Theres a lucky rhythm to when the reels change.

I wouldnt say that.

When it comes to film language, especially with establishing shots, youre correct.

Aesthetically, we have moved beyond that in a big way.

For this one, the zoom definitely creates a certain feeling.

I just didnt want anything to look and feel like every other horror movie being made these days.

I wanted it to feel likeThe Changeling,The Exorcist, or howPoltergeistfelt to me.

And the colour palette is obviously a big part of creating this nostalgic feeling.

What are some of the ideas you had about colour in this film?

We didnt affect the logo, we just went with the file Universal provided.

After that, though, we were definitely playing with colour quite a bit.

In thinking about the kind of movies we were trying to emulate, they had a much warmer palette.

I never shoot my movies like Im shooting a horror movie, I shoot them like dramas.

Dramas and then something horrible happens.

Its a little different, I think, especially with this being a Platinum Dunes horror movie.

They have a palette.

The kings of cobalt.

We feel very separate from that.

We wanted to make a beautiful film.

What was the brief here?

Did you autonomously pitch a plotline that dovetailed into the previousOuijaor was that a restriction placed upon you?

There wasnt much pressure at all to connect to the previous movie.

I wanted people who had both seen and not seen first film to enjoy it.

It was fun to draw some connections, here and there, but it certainly wasnt our biggest priority.

Is that a reference to you?

Our conversations aboutHalloweennever got that far.

Theyre going to take the time to do it right.

I do know his heart is in the right place.

Asking filmmakers to initiate the concepts can seem revolutionary but it shouldnt, should it?

This should always be the way it is.

The challenge withHalloweenis stepping into the shadow of a perfect movie.

Thats what intimidated me.

You would hope so.

This makes me think, though, about what youre doing next.

In a lot of ways its going to feel like an original.

But I hear you, and typically I want to do original material as much as possible.

Are you clear on how it looks and operates cinematically?

Its going to be fascinating.

In one way, all of the work I have done has been leading up to this.

What does Jeff Howard bring to your films?

Can you sum it up?

Jeff and I have been writing together since 2004.

At last count we had written something like 22 scripts together.

But its not just Jeff.

Mike Fimognari has been with me sinceOculus, with the one exception beingHushbecause he was on another job.

I take a stab at keep a family.

That, I think, elevates everything.

A lot of things that otherwise would be impossible become feasible.

Im a big believer in building a crew.

Jeff goes right back before all of that.

Were a real machine at this point.

Youre your own editor.

Would you ever be tempted to bring another editor in, to get another voice in the collaboration?

Id certainly be open to it given the right project.

That was where I started, and its where Im most at home.

Everything you need is there but nothing else.

It has to be put together in a very specific way or it wont work.

So far, however, they havent been able to get me out of the cutting room.

Im glad of it.

Mike Flanagan, thank you very much.

Ouija: Origin Of Evilis in UK cinemas from October 21st.