Incantation

Ronan (Tsai Hsuan-yen) had spent time recovering in a mental institution and was now ready to be reunited with her daughter Dodo (Huang Sin-ting), who had been raised in a foster house run by Ming (Kao Ying-hsuan). However, when Dodo was with Ronan, she began to act bizarrely and "see" invisible entities called "baddies".

Ronan realized that these paranormal phenomena were related to events six years ago. She tagged along with her boyfriend Dom (Sean Lin) and his cousin Yuan (RQ) when the two returned to their village for some mystic family rituals. They began filming the proceedings for their YouTube channel, thus violating religious taboos.

Director Kevin Ko used the "found footage" style (mainly home videos and security cameras) to tell his unsettling story, going back and forth in time. The involvement of a cute child in mortal danger makes things more stressful. Ronan breaking the fourth wall to involve her audience to join her to chant "Hou-ho-xiu-yi, si-sei-wu-ma" added more creeps. The cursed video taken within cursed tomb made for a grand finale.

Incantation's premise is a decent vehicle for a found footage film. The ride to get there is engaging thanks to the efforts of a strong cast, relatable elements that ground the story, and a dreadful atmosphere. Many spells are cast and give goosebumps throughout the film.

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.

Some of my friends know me for being that guy who does not get scared at horror movies. So because of that some of them came up to me saying how this was "the scariest movie that they've ever seen" and "oh this one is definitely gonna scare you". And tbh i see why. The movie make many attempts to build tension, i mean like many. And for the most part i can see how it would get people to feel unsettled or uncomfortable with what's going on in the movie.

I liked the movie a lot if you couldn't tell from the high ratings. I did catch my self a couple times getting like really into it but honestly it was nothing i haven't seen before. The movie was still fun with big climaxes and tones of scares that even got me to jump. Really enjoyed it. One thing i will say is so not watch it in dubbed. It sounds terrible, just suck it up and read some subtitles. Trust me it makes the movie 100% times better.

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.