Incantation – Movie Review
Director: Kevin Ko
Writer: Che-Wei Chang, Kevin Ko (Screenplay)
Cast
- Hsuan-yen Tsai (The Blue Choker)
- Ying-Hsuan Kao (Lust, Caution)
- Sean Lin (Lost Romance)
- Mohamed Elgendy (The Thief of Baghdad)
- Ahmed Shawky Shaheen (The Dealer)
Plot: WARNING: This is a cursed video, it might contain certain risks to watch; For those who dare to follow, please solve the puzzle of my daughter’s curse with me.
Runtime: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Incantation starts as Ruo-nan (Tsai) is preparing to get her daughter Toto back. She has experienced a lot of tragedy in her life, believing evil is after her. Wanting to film her reunion with Toto, she keeps a camera rolling at her, despite a series of strange events happening.
Diving into her past, where the evil first started to find Rou-nan. As well as the escalating horrors the pair are going through, forcing her into investigating her past, in hopes of saving her daughter’s future.
Verdict on Incantation
Characters
Ruo-nan is a single mother that has been through a disturbing experience. One that has seen her need treatment in a mental hospital. She is getting her daughter back now and recovered until she is reconnected with her daughter. Seeing the evil return to her life, causing her the pain she suffered before to return. Facing a race to save her daughter, she must look back at her previous adventures as a Ghostbuster.
Toto is the daughter of Ruo-nan, she was raised in foster care. Now, she gets to return to her mother, where she will start seeing things and acting unusual. Drawing the evil to her, as she becomes more infected by the possession.
In the supporting characters, we get to meet the foster father, who has been giving her a happy life. The fellow ghostbusters who worked with Ruo-nan on the incident that unleashes everything.
Performances
Hsuan-yen Tsai is strong in the leading role, showing the desperation to keep a child safe. The performance is driven to connect and appeal to the audience, asking for help, rather than only being the victim within the story.
The supporting performances are strong too, most are filled with the fear they are experiencing. When the cast works together, they show good chemistry between friends. As well as the uncertainty between people who are separated.
Story
The story follows a mother searching for answers from her past, that have back to haunt her, with her daughter in danger now. This looks to bring forward a different dimension to the story, pulling us into the need to support the journey. Rather than only us watching to support, it feels like an appeal video, surrounded by a movie.
One of the few weaker points of the story comes from the flashbacks, we jump between the two timelines a lot. Which at times because annoying, because not enough spotlight is placed upon the horrors the child is going through. The research doesn’t feel like it answers enough either, despite the film keeping us on edge throughout.
Themes
Incantation is a horror mystery that wants to channel ‘The Ring’ by going down the viral spread of evil. The reasoning behind the evil is different, but Ruo-nan wanting to drive towards viral support through the problems comes through here. The locations will show that a sacred location has been disturbed, away from the bigger city. The movie does use found footage, which does capture the magic of the tension-riddled concept.
Where to Watch: Incantation is available on Netflix now.
Final Thoughts – Incantation is filled with tension that is ready to shred your nerves.
