The Incantation— My take on the movie with spoilers!
PLOT SUMMARY: Lucy goes to visit a castle to learn more about her family's heritage only to discover their dark past.
Rarely, you'll come across a movie that is perplexing, confounding, baffling, befuddling- take your pick of the adjective and you would have chosen the right adjective.
But that would hardly suffice how you would describe the movie in its entirety.
Also choose from the list: boring, dull, uninteresting, humdrum, etc.
Yes, The Incantation lacks personality, has no solid story or interesting characters. Not one of them holds your interest and perhaps it has little to do with the actors' acting skills and more to do with the bland storytelling.
The story suffers from a dual personality. It wants to be a goth style yet the setting is modern.
But that would hardly suffice how you would describe the movie in its entirety.
Also choose from the list: boring, dull, uninteresting, humdrum, etc.
Yes, The Incantation lacks personality, has no solid story or interesting characters. Not one of them holds your interest and perhaps it has little to do with the actors' acting skills and more to do with the bland storytelling.
The story suffers from a dual personality. It wants to be a goth style yet the setting is modern.
THE INCANTATION Movie Plot
The protagonist is supposed to be a lively American teenager but ends up being a dull girl who tries to seem complicated when she reveals to her boyfriend that she is attracted to the dark arts and has always supported the villain in her bedtime stories. Oh, and she hates pink but is trying hard to be something that she is not.
None of it matters and as you watch the movie; the idle paper of balloon floating in the breeze outside your window is much more interesting.
The confusing part of the movie is not the story, but the tiny tidbits left incomplete in the storytelling.
The protagonist, Lucy, is sitting drunk in the woods and is trying to make a call. When she gets the message that her battery is low, she drops the phone.
It's like: nope, this phone is useless to me now.
Then she enters a shack in the forest. Why the forest? She was in the pub, could have chosen to keep walking in the city or have the bartender call her a cab. But nope. She wanders into the forest and meets an old woman in the shack who instructs her to drink from a pitcher.
The protagonist is supposed to be a lively American teenager but ends up being a dull girl who tries to seem complicated when she reveals to her boyfriend that she is attracted to the dark arts and has always supported the villain in her bedtime stories. Oh, and she hates pink but is trying hard to be something that she is not.
None of it matters and as you watch the movie; the idle paper of balloon floating in the breeze outside your window is much more interesting.
The confusing part of the movie is not the story, but the tiny tidbits left incomplete in the storytelling.
The protagonist, Lucy, is sitting drunk in the woods and is trying to make a call. When she gets the message that her battery is low, she drops the phone.
It's like: nope, this phone is useless to me now.
Then she enters a shack in the forest. Why the forest? She was in the pub, could have chosen to keep walking in the city or have the bartender call her a cab. But nope. She wanders into the forest and meets an old woman in the shack who instructs her to drink from a pitcher.
What does Lucy do? She obeys and drinks what we hope is water. When the old woman starts speaking in tongues, Lucy drops her backpack as well, goes back into the woods and faints.
Here's another confusing part. The hapless hero whose uncle has just died is consoling his mother and asks his mother not to make him breakfast and come sit with him. What does the mother do? She lets the egg keep frying in the pan and hands her son a plate of croissants.
Did she turn off the gas? Did the kitchen fill up with smoke? Hopefully.
Anyway, time for some spoilers.
THE INCANTATION Ending Explained with Spoilers!
So, Lucy is the heir to a nefarious family who used to kill and torture the people and practised dark arts. The family wants Lucy to continue their lineage by killing an innocent. Why does she keep seeing a girl who is supposed to be her sister? No idea.
The chambermaid, the vicar and the insurance guy are all ghosts and supposedly part of the family.
They just what Lucy to kill an innocent and she thinks she has killed the villains instead.
Turns out, she was hallucinating and had instead killed her new boyfriend.
As for Lucy and JP, here's another weird part--she is attending her uncle's funeral and she meets JP who is the gravedigger. Yup, instant attraction.
Yes, she is interested in all things associated with macabre, but still, that was just too insensitive and morbid.
The movie has nothing going right for it and is a bore-fest from start to finish.
Scare scale: 0.5/5
Thanks for the spoilers, because I literally could not sit through that movie, but was still mildly interested in the ending.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your review of Dan Campbell's "The Incantation." Would you consider reviewing Tonia L.Carrier's micro-budget feature, "Bailiwick"?
ReplyDeleteWill you review Tonia's movie, Bailiwick?
Pinkie's Kids Productions has just released Tonia L. Carrier's "Bailiwick." An ultra-low budget feature film shot in Michigan, it stars an all Michigan cast of actors.
"Bailiwick" is the story of John, a lonely, quiet man who is given a gift that changes his life. Do you believe in magic?
Written and directed by Tonia L. Carrier, co-written by Roni Jonah, Amy Austin, and Cyndi Moore. Starring Dan Gerics and Nick Mackey, "Bailiwick" co-stars Kirstin Vanhooser, Roni Jonah, Tonia L. Carrier, Skylar Sprague, Hector Reyes, among others.
Featuring original music by Jeff Schrems, Cash O'Riley and Play To The Gallery. Original theme song by Jeff Schrems.
"Bailiwick" is a modern-day horror movie. It does not, however, have jump scares, nor does it trade heavily on many time-worn horror tropes. Instead, it plays like an early Roger Corman movie/Twilight Zone episode. It may not be to everyone's taste. But we would like your opinion.
Thanking you in advance.
David W. King
mmm2weekender.com
Bailiwick youtube link
https://youtu.be/2sOiZiLQ_Lc
Tonia L. Carrier's IMDB page
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3495508/?ref_=tt_cl_t3
I'll try to find it and watch it. Thanks for the recommendation.
Delete