Incarnate - Teuflische Besessenheit

Too many reviews feel the need to offer a summary but I like to go on the assumption you know that by now. This movie was not as good as I thought it would be to be honest. I was excited by the trailer because it looked like an interesting new take on possession films but it was just not executed that great to me. Normally I see films these days and think it really didn't have to be 2 or 2 and a half hours long but Incarnate is the opposite. This movie craved more time. There's a reason why Constantine was 2 hours. The concept was also similar to The Cell as far as entering the subject's mind which can only have so much science in it as it's impossible. However unlike Constantine there's not enough supernatural background information to support the story. It was basically just I have a gift to go into possessed people's minds. Why can he only enter the minds of possessed? How long has he known he could? Are there others like him? What caused this gift? Inate? Or near death experience? Also this Maggie demon (which isn't typical as all angels including the fallen are historically male though I know why they call the demon this name it just sounds inaccurate) so obsessed with torturing him? No reason mentioned. So its not a bad movie at all but it starts out strong and ends weak like a mixed drink. It needed to be longer. It felt so rushed like it thought it was an episode of X-files and had to be done in 45 min. Pretty sure if it had been an X-files episode it would've been a 2 or 3 parter. Also great cast with the exception of the mother. She almost looked bored the whole movie as if her child wasn't possessed. She really needed to take notes from Ellen Burstyn. To sum up its similar to movies that were executed better. Constantine and The Cell to me. Others say Insidious but since I think those movies were crap I rather prefer Incarnate. Two thumbs up for trying to be different but honestly surprised this wasn't a straight to DVD.

There are a lot of horror movies written about demons and being possessed. The movie Incarnate tries to give it a different perspective by separating it from the religion. It could have been way better if the script were little bit different but honestly, I do not recommend watching it but if you are really bored and have nothing else to deal with go ahead.

It started with an interesting twist on the concept of demons and possession:

What if demons are actual creatures? Only they're mental parasites that feed off the energy of their hosts. They pass to new hosts through touch and, having no body of their own to die of old age, are immortal as long as they jump to a new host before their old one dies, or are without a body for too long. To keep their host from ejecting them, they create an idealized inner fantasy to trap their victims in their own minds, distracting them from the fact that they've been invaded by a parasite. Based on this premise, any act that brings awareness to the possessed empowers them to dispel their demons. So, traditional exorcisms work, but therapeutic, scientific treatments are also effective.

Unfortunately, the execution of this concept is fumbling.

Stereotypical in a not-fun, but predictable and riddled with plot-holes way, the film tries to be action-y, but is too dull, and tries to be a horror, but isn't scary at all.

While not a truly horrible movie, most of the acting is over-done and the pacing thick with "hurry up and wait".

Enter Dr. Ember, our hero.

He's the surly, unwashed, Constantine-wannabe who uses science and a bad attitude to "evict" demons by entering their host's minds Inception-style and attempting to wake them up. Demon's know Dr. Ember by name and are out to get him personally.

For some reason.

I call Dr. Ember a Constantine-wannabe since his character is a pale copy of the iconic supernatural anti-hero, with all of the disgruntled grumble, but none of the charm or flash. The audience is left wondering why on earth demons think he's worth the time to bother.

The actor was going for gritty, but ended up seeming homeless.

The film's promises of scientific means for exorcism cop out when, though eased by the elaborate tech setup, Dr. Ember mainly relies on inborn supernatural talent to visit other's minds.

Once there, viewers will be disappointed in the mediocrity of the dreamscapes he visits.

In short, there are far, far better action, horror, and action- horror films to waste you time on, but if there is absolutely nothing else on, or you're intrigued by the unfulfilled concept, watching this won't be too painful.

The plot: a bitter scientist who can enter other people's dreams becomes an exorcist to hunt down the demon that killed his family.

If you're a fan of Aaron Eckhart, how could you not find this concept exciting? The problem is that the film gives you all kinds of promises and fails to deliver on any of them. Every step of the way, you're left thinking to yourself, "This movie could have been awesome." With such an over-the-top, absurd premise, you could have really gone crazy. Instead, it's by-the-numbers.

The dream sequences in particular could have been memorable. Remember The Cell by Tarsem Singh? That wasn't a great movie, but the dream sequences were great. Imagine what someone like David Cronenberg could have done with this concept! Instead, what do we get? A generic nightclub. A generic carnival. A generic park. When music videos from the 1990s look more visionary -- and disturbing -- than your horror movie, that's a problem.

Perhaps one of the more perplexing aspects of the story is that our hero rejects spiritual mumbo jumbo when it comes to demons, but he uses psychic powers to fight them. I suspect this was done to explain why he must fight the demons personally. But given that he's already obsessed with vengeance, why can't that be enough? Why does he also need superpowers?

The story is OK, but it often feels like it could have been so much more. Despite throwing several interesting ideas at you, it never rises above the pedestrian elevator pitch: "Fallen meets Inception". However, it's not boring, which is truly the only unforgivable sin in a horror movie.

The movie takes some getting use to as it's a little off on genres.

Not a typical ghost story, Aaron Eckhart plays a doctor Who takes a very non religious method in exercising demons by using a gift he has to enter the minds of those "infected" by supernatural parasites and evicting as he calls it, the spirit by making its host realize that the perfect world the demon has created in its dreams is not real.

I was kinda expecting more of a horror movie theme but it's not that. that's what is a little off. It's not scary and it's not trying to scare you (At least I think, cause if it is it does do a bad job of it). It feels more like it's exploring or expanding the concept of a religious-less exercisium with a little background story to keep it interesting and keep it moving.

But it's a good movie to watch.

http://cinemagardens.com