La reencarnación

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

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.

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.

I'm a fan of Aaron Eckhart so that was my main draw to see Incarnate.

The good: The film doesn't insult you by explaining everything at once, it does this through the action and dialogue sequences which are OKAY. Aaron delivers a solid performance here, and so does David Mazouz, the kid that plays Bruce Wayne in the Gotham TV series. The story is moderately interesting and reminds me a bit of Inception.

The Meh/Bad: The directing is often a bit ham-fisted and clunky. The script wasn't particularly brilliant but was OKAY. Didn't care much for the cop-out ending although that's a minor complaint.

Bottom line is, don't expect a masterpiece or above average film. Its a nice film to kill an hour and a half with.

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.