Incarnate

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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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.

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.

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.

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.