Plot

Six years ago, Li Ronan was cursed after breaking a religious taboo. Now, she must protect her daughter from the consequences of her actions.

Cast

Directed by Kevin Ko who also directed my favourite Taiwanese movie A Choo (2020).

Verdict

From the stylish thought provoking opening scene the film had my attention, after countless poor movies lately this was very exciting.

Part traditional, part found footage style Incantation is a fascinating supernatural tale set across our leading ladies past and present, watching them collide and a very intriguing story.

Suitably creepy and thoroughly putting Hollywood to shame who simply cannot do horror anymore I was positively gripped. Granted the plot does make it up as it goes along and a couple of questions went unanswered, but most were, the ending delivers and this has now become my second favorite Taiwanese movie.

Very much worth your time.

Rants

Once again within the bowels of the IMDB reviews I see a standard type, the "I didn't finish the movie" type. Sorry but if you didn't watch the movie you have absolutely no right to an opinion and the site shouldn't allow such reviews. You're admitting you haven't seen it, watch until the credits roll then talk until then shush!

The Good

Very creepy Wonderfully constructed Oddly stylish Gripping

The Bad

A few questions go unanswered Some found footage moments actually make no logistical sense Casting could have done a better job.

Overall I feel like if they shaved about 20-30 minutes off the movie and kept the direction a bit more clear It could have been really great. Minorly confusing at times how a character got somewhere or how much time passed, it also jumped back and fourth from past and present, it was fine and we figured out pretty quickly what was years in the past, but that mixed with the hazy time passing between present scenes it was a bit confusing still.

The Good: Incantation is a film that actively tries its hardest to scare the **** out of you. Unlike so many other horror films, this one is actively committed to that goal and there are so many hypnotic, trance inducing moments, fourth wall breaks, and interesting touches that I can confidently say, it is one of the most innovative and interesting horror movies I've seen in a long time. It puts a new meaning to the phrase "dreadful atmosphere."

(This movie reminds me of Eternal Darkness of Gamecube more than any recent horror movie I've seen, honestly).

Found footage has a bad rap, but honestly, it has the potential to truly bring the audience in and scare the ever loving crap out of them. This is one of those films that maximizes terror with the unstable camera, the idea that there is something in the corner that you can't see. The lighting is deliberately natural to really make us feel like we're watching some cursed video. I'm happy that this tired format - in the US at least - find new life in Taiwan.

The disjointed narrative is a great tension generator and the twists and turns that come aren't entirely surprising, but do a good job of keeping the audience engaged. The performances are frankly awesome here; even with the language barrier, the dread on Hsuai-yen Tsai's face speaks volumes. The characters are endearing, interesting, and quite likeable. Which makes what happens in the film even more heart breaking.

I also think - particularly for Western audiences - seeing a ghost story from a different cultural context is always interesting. If a movie can teach you about a culture while still being entertaining to those with no interest in that, I count it as a win.

The Bad: That being said...there are some chances for truly visually interesting things to happen, but it just doesn't. Maybe it was the curse of high expectations, but if you have such an inherently and visually interesting villain, if you have a great visual accompaniment as to what would happens to people who cross her, why not take that opportunity to just...show us?

[I'm essentially wondering why people's faces aren't getting smashed in. Yes.]

The biggest issue with this movie is that it's a bit too long. It drags a bit and could've used some time in the editing room. I also felt some of the "reveals" later on were pretty easy to see coming and didn't really make as much of an impact because they took too long to come.

The Ugly: Incantation is one of those rare horror movies that might be a bit too restrained and could've benefitted from showing us a little more freaky stuff. But, overall it's a very solid horror flick and definitely one of the better ones from 2022.