A Taiwanese found footage folk horror that has a great scary atmosphere and a surprising twist at the end.
- Entertainment factor: ★★★★★
- Scare factor: ★★★★☆
- Folk horror factor: ★★★★★
- Cosmic horror factor: ★★★★★
- Original factor: ★★★★★
- Occult factor: ★★★★☆
Incantation is a Taiwanese found footage horror that blends folk hood with cosmic horror and also breaks the fourth wall. It stars: Hsuan-yen Tsai, Sin-Ting Huang. Directed by Kevin Ko, Written by Che-Wei Chang, Kevin Ko.
Duration: 1h 50m
Plot
The story starts with Li Ruo-nan picking up her daughter Dodo from her foster care to come live with her again. We learn that she suffered from mental illness and couldn’t take care of her, but after therapy she is healthy and is able to take care of Dodo. But then Dodo starts acting strange. She says an evil person is in her room.
That brings us back six years ago when Ruo-nan went to a remote village with her boyfriend Chen Li-tung and his cousin Chen-yuan where they grew up. They are ghost hunters and want to film a forbidden tunnel for their channel. But they are not welcomed, especially Ruo-nan. When Yuan and Li-tung go into the forbidden tunnel, they break a taboo with deadly consequences.
Since that day Li Ruo-nan is cursed and now her daughter is too. She has to do everything in her power to help her daughter with dire consequences.
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Short Review
The story switches from the present to the events six years ago that led to her present condition. It starts out as a tragic tale of a young mother who was unable to take care of her daughter. Now Dodo can stay with her, while she is under supervision.
Six years ago the boys filmed their stay in the remote village. A village that gives off creepy folk horror vibes immediately. The little village is isolated and the people are odd and act a bit scary, creating an ominous atmosphere which is enhanced by the mystery of the tunnel and what’s inside. It gets even worse when the villagers worship something that is inside that forbidden tunnel. They even sacrifice a child to placate it.
Now Ruo-nan is filming everything that happens herself, and for a reason that will be revealed in the end in a surprising twist. But she doesn’t have to do it all alone. She gets help from the manager of the foster home, Ming who is very involved with them and concerned for them both.
The story is about rituals, folk horror, ancient deities, symbols and of course an incantation. This incantation has to be spoken aloud and she addresses the viewers, breaking the fourth wall, to say it with her to help Dodo. That incantation has a little surprise up it’s sleeve. It’s a story about how powerful words and images can be. It’s both a scary and original idea.
While the story has some great scary moments, and a show-don’t-tell narrative without getting too explicit, it also does have some questionable scenes that don’t feel logical to the story. Still the whole narrative is interesting, especially what is happening in the present. The incantation itself is an original horror on its own, caused by a cosmic deity called Mother-Buddha that offers some disorienting surreal scenes inside the tunnel and even causes possessions and suicides.
Incantation is a folk horror with cosmic horrors that offers some scares, is full of mystery and has a surprising ending, that will explain why Ruo-nan is filming their ordeal.
Did You Know I Also Make Art and Designs?
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