Incantation

Incantation

Inspired by a true story of a family who believed they were possessed by spirits, this film follows a woman who must protect her child from a curse. WARNING: This is a cursed video, it might contain certain risks to watch. For those who dares to follow, please solve the puzzle of my daughter's curse with me.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 120 minutes
  • Genre: Horror
  • Stars: Hsuan-yen Tsai, Kao Ying-Hsuan, Sin-Ting Huang, Sean Lin, Wen Ching-Yu, Queenie Chen, Yi Peng
  • Director: Kevin Ko
 Comments
  • lmathc - 22 February 2024
    Interesting Concept, Poor Execution
    Incantation had the potential to be great, and the earmarks of a great horror movie were present in the first five minutes: a creepy score, unsettling imagery, and the unique application of optical illusions, as well as legitimate audience participation. Sadly, the film wasn't quite able to capitalize.

    Incantation's major downfalls can be found in its overuse of what can only be referred to as horror cliches. These include but are not limited to telegraphed jump scares, nonsensical character decisions for the sake of advancing the plot, and excessive "found footage" that heavily strains believability. When done well, a found footage film can be one of the most immersive horror experiences, but when characters consistently film themselves in ways that make no sense and actually become detrimental, the film tends to break the suspension of disbelief. Incantation is a particularly bad offender in this category, and frequently has protagonists waste valuable time reaching for the camera or aiming it to get a good shot rather than do literally anything more logical.

    Upsides? The concept is fascinating, and the aforementioned mechanic of audience participation is implemented in a clever way. There are some genuinely haunting visuals that are absolutely not for the faint of heart, and the sound design and score of the film do a fine job of creating a creepy atmosphere when they aren't screaming at the audience to prepare for a jumpscare.

    Overall, Incantation is a technically competent found footage film that fails to rise above mediocre in most aspects, but it's good enough for a single watch.
  • lethradir - 3 September 2023
    Total waste of time
    Supposed to be THE most horrifying, as I was told by a friend of mine,who claimed "it took the bejesus out of" him..promoted as such by Netflix (which ,to be honest,has lost any credibility long time now)! Nah...nothing even remotely scary or even in the slightest mood for it.."Ringu" , "Ju on" , etc gave us such moments ages ago.

    BUT NOT HERE..without "telling" anything about plot twists (do they even exist in this film?) , I could sum up to a single phrase: this could be a perfect cinematic advertisement - paid by,uhh the Government maybe?- about birth control, 20something nerds NOT breaking generations of horrendous superstitions,or crashing "family-only labeled" seances.

    Well,the one positive is the movie running to its end..and that' s that 😉😊