Incantation (2022) by Kevin Ko

Director: Kevin Ko

Year: 2022

Country: Taiwan

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Supernatural

Plot:

Deciding to upload a new video, a blogger recounts how her daughter fell victim to a terrible curse after she and her friends visited a sacred ceremony in a remote village and upset the deity at the center of the ritual, forcing her to extreme measures to stop the curse from affecting her.

Review:

This one manages to have a lot to really like about it. One of the more enjoyable aspects here comes from the intriguing and entertaining setup that seeks to utilize a slightly obscure series of intentions to generate its scares. While operating within clearly-defined fields here with the traditional series of scares and hauntings that it's building off of, the central crux of the storyline here being presented through the implementation of a curse carries some weight. That there's a healthy backstory in place for the occult practices in place here, ranging from the elaborate altar area and strict adherence to customs while in the village provides a fine grounding for the spiritual beliefs in place. Knowing full well that the locals forbid them from performing certain actions yet doing so anyway allows for a more reasonable backdrop as to why it gets unleashed and follows them around which definitely adds a darker dimension to the second half as the curse takes hold and the frantic nature of the villagers' actions towards her and the group becomes increasingly more chilling. It's all generally enjoyable enough to keep the film engaging for a fun time alongside its running time.

That serves well here in getting to the films' best feature in the numerous supernatural antics featured here. While some of the tricks and gags on display are nothing new, including voices crying out in the distance, an unresponsive attitude from the daughter who contorts her body unnaturally, her insistence on a playmate no one else can see, and even doors slamming shut in front of witnesses, others are quite fun. The scenes involving the serious illness and strange body marks that start appearing on the daughter's classmates start hinting that something creepy is happening to those around her. Footage of demonic activity occurring in the house or candid sequences of the public engaging in destructive acts of suicide around others showcase the strength and power exhibited here and offer up some impressive visuals along the way which increases the brutality of the curse in fine form. That all provides the grounding for the frantic and frenzied finale that manages to tie together both of these aspects, with the sequences in the village showing the group encountering the truth behind the curse bringing the religious aspects together with some fine moments of brutality. That this is all in service of a spectacular twist that comes off incredibly well gives everything a much darker bent and has quite a lot to enjoy here.

There isn't much wrong here but there are some slight factors. The biggest factor here stems from the aforementioned usage of clichéd motifs and ideas that are overutilized in most other genre fare in this style. The use of numerous repeated tactics that range from the sudden shock-jumps of something appearing behind someone or a loud crashing bang accompanying an object acting unnaturally without warning carries through quite a lot of the first half. Even the theme and central topic here of the curse originating through the recklessness she and her crew display while investigating the ceremonial ritual is all highly uninspired and doesn't do much to separate itself from a slew of similar films. Another factor with this one is the obviously unnecessary found-footage format presented here, offering very little in terms of obvious need as to why it was utilized. On top of that, there are so many of the usual debilitating factors that come about from featuring the format such as headache-inducing shaking camera movements, obscured vision by ducking behind objects at the wrong moment, or being carried along at moments that should hinder a person's natural ability to preserve their life. So much of the final half here should not be filmed with their lives in that much danger yet the constant need to retreat back to grab the camera comes with the territory. These factors all manage to highlight the drawbacks featured here.

Overview: ***.5/5

A highly enjoyable if somewhat flawed found-footage feature, this one offers quite a lot of likable factors but manages to feature a few drawbacks that keep it from the highest reaches of the genre. Fans of Asian horror cinema or curious about it due to the reputation will enjoy it while those who are turned off by the drawbacks or the approach taken here should heed caution.

This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.