Incarnate - Teuflische Besessenheit

I'll simply say this about Incarnate, if you're looking for a film that is in the vein of Insidious or some other horror film that relies on the viewer actually paying attention to the story over the typical guts and gore, then you're in luck. However, if you're looking to just kill an hour and a half with something mindless, look elsewhere. This movie, while by no means perfect, is also highly underrated and at least tries to put its' own twist on the whole possession sub-genre. Don't let the negative rating or reviews put you off, this is one film that you'll regret not viewing several years later. In this viewer's opinion, this is a future cult classic.

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.

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Promising intro but then gets stereotypical with soppy and dull dialog. Exorcism cliches prevail over the more original aspects of the script.

Eckhart talks in that annoying "hey I'm so cool and dangerous" BS movie-whisper voice, similarly to Bruce Willis, Steven Segal and Alec Baldwin. The only actor that could get away with it was Clint Eastwood, and even he didn't whisper as much. These insecure fools need to stop impersonating Eastwood.

The conclusion is more interesting than the large dull middle but it's riddled with cliches and predictable twists.

As far as Possession movies go there really isn't a whole lot left to do, and most films on the subject tend to not try anything new at all. That's where "Incarnate" stands out, the film does try to approach possession in a different and more science fiction way which on paper seemed like it could be really interesting, but unfortunately the execution was so basic that the whole thing ended up feeling really flat.

The film opens fairly promising, the opening scene kind of has an eighties horror feel to it and that continues on through the opening credit which I really dug. But from there the movie starts to take on a very strange vibe, the overall tone is serious but some of the characters and lines just felt like they were bordering on parody. Some parts of the movie were just so dumb that it was impossible to take it seriously. The main character (played by Aaron Eckhart) speaks in a very gruff severe tone and honestly I found myself laughing at his delivery on some of the lines. Eckhart is a good actor but his performance here was a little comical.

With all that said though the film does manage to be entertaining for the majority of it's run time. It's a very short film (clocking in just under an hour and twenty minutes) and the pacing is very quick so boredom was never really a big issue. So if you are interested in some cheap thrills and you are not easily put off by very dumb/cheesy movies than you may find yourself enjoying this.

5/10

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.