A Taiwanese horror film called Incantation has TikTok so frightening that people are challenging each other to watch it without stopping. It's hard to find good horror movies that are worth watching. I decided to take on the challenge in order to find out if Incantation is as frightening as TikTok says. Incantation, with elements of folklore and possession, is a slow-burn horror film that continues to burn long after you're done watching it.
Incantation, directed by Kevin Ko, is the highest-grossing film in Taiwan in the year 2022, and the highest-grossing horror film in Taiwan ever. Six years ago, Li Ronan broke a religious taboo when she tried to save her daughter from a curse. In the film, Incantations are dispersed and viewers are encouraged to chant with her to break the curse. Ko made Incantation an intimate viewing experience, using a found footage technique, which made it feel as though she was a vlogger going about her day.
Although the film is about a fictional religious group that worships a deity named Mother-Buddha, the props, incantations, and symbolic hand gestures feel incredibly realistic. The religion is based on Buddhism and Brahmic script, which makes the hand gestures and insignias feel familiar. The statues of Mother-Buddha are very similar to the real-life statues of Buddha, and the incantation sounds similar.
We are introduced to the religion in old footage of the trio visiting a Chinese village with their families. Wanting sensationally spooky material for their online channel, Ronan and her crew film a once-in-a-decade ritual but disrespect the clan's sacred spaces by breaking into a tunnel that holds a shrine dedicated to Mother-Buddha. They didn't know that this space was built to confine the power of Mother-Buddha and that they would vandalize the shrine. Dom and Yuan are killed by unseen forces for their actions. She surrendered Dodo, her daughter, to foster care because she was traumatised and unstable. The curse hurts Ronan when they get back together.
Credit: Netflix
It is nearly impossible to not associate horror movies with jump scares, monsters, or slashers. Incantation isn't really "scary" in the traditional sense because it doesn't rely on any of the typical horror movie factors. Ko builds suspense and dread on the intimate and psychological terror of the hero. He uses elements of gore, trypophobia, and the eeriness of the unknown to frighten us. The suspension of disbelief begins innocently before growing more sinister as the film progresses. The chants seem to sound more threatening as the insignias start to mean something to you. Incantation is a good film to watch because it makes you feel cursed at the end.
There are no monsters or demonic voices in the movie, that's for sure. Ronan and Dodo begin to act very strange. She sees a faceless baddie on the ceiling, talks to an entity that no one else can see, and jumps off a rooftop to get back up. There is something scary about possessed children. Dodo believes everything to be a game even though she is close to evil. It is heartbreaking to see the effects of the curse on a young child.
Things start to go wrong very quickly when the suspense finally hits its breaking point. Desperate to save her daughter's life, Ronan goes to the village to find a shrine. The final scene of the movie doesn't give us a good idea of what Mother-Buddha looks like. We felt the inhumanness of the deity when the veil covering her face was lifted for a short time. Ko captures the feeling of pure dread on a single frame. It is an absolute gut punch rather than a jump scare.
Incantation is not frightening. It's enough to make even the most experienced horror movie fan shiver.
Incantation is available to watch on the internet.
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