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Parents' Guide to

Incantation

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Violence, suicide, creepy imagery in clichéd horror.

Movie NR 2022 110 minutes
Incantation Movie Poster

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • Incantation Movie: Scene One
  • Incantation Movie: Scene Two
  • Incantation Movie: Scene Three

Community Reviews

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age 16+

Based on 1 parent review

thecabbageboy
thecabbageboy Parent of 18+-year-old
July 21, 2022
age 16+
This film is an extremely well-done found footage horror film. However, parents need to keep in mind that the film pulls no punches when it comes to showcasing gore and body horror, as well as disturbing religious motifs. The film also actively involves the audience in "sharing" the fictitious curse portrayed in the story, which may be extremely frightening for children who fear real-life repercussions. However, the film also successfully addresses issues like intergenerational trauma, the concept of motherhood as well as unconditional familial love, which can be wonderful points of discussion between you and an older child. However, maturity is required from both parties, and at any age, parental guidance would be appropriate.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much violence
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

In INCANTATION, Ruo-nan (Hsuan-yen Tsai) is reunited with her daughter, Dodo, after coming out of six years of intense therapy in the aftermath of a traumatic series of events. Six years ago, she was part of a vlog channel called "Ghostbusters" with her boyfriend Dom (Sean Lin) and his relative Yuan, and they traveled to a remote village where Yuan's family conducted secretive religious rituals. While trying to observe the rituals, they got into trouble by going places with their cameras where they were forbidden to go, and unleashed a demon god who caused bad things to happen. Her encounters left Ruo-nan scarred and horrified that she hasn't escaped the wrath of the god, and as she reunites with Dodo, she must find a way to protect Dodo and herself, even if that means returning to the village where she took part in unleashing the evil.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (2 ):

This is a "found footage" supernatural horror movie overwhelmed by clichés. Incantation has a kernel of originality to it, as the lead character Ruo-nan must confront a demon god she helped to unleash six years prior, especially now that she's reunited with the daughter she had to give up due to mental illness created by the traumas she endured from the demon god. However, it doesn't take long for that kernel to be drowned in a sea of horror movie banality: meddling kids who go where they shouldn't; bloody noses; worms; creepy, mystical elderly characters; rotting teeth; jump scares; excessive horror movie background music that undercuts the "found footage" aspect; etc.

There are even some moments of audience participation (chanting that, quite unintentionally, brings to mind Pee Wee Herman's "Mecka lecka-hi, mecka hiney-ho") that makes the whole thing pretty cheesy. Even the found footage device of using digital cameras, dashcams, camera phones, and so on grows stale, unwieldy, and forced within the first 20 minutes. It's a Taiwanese horror movie that doesn't present anything that hasn't been seen in so many other horror movies.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about horror movie violence, like what's seen in Incantation. How does it compare to violence in other movies? Was it necessary for the story, or did it seem like it was too much? Why?

  • The film is presented as if it's home movies of the characters -- from digital cameras, computer screens, and camera phones. How does this affect the story? Does it heighten the scares? Why, or why not?

  • What were some of the horror movie clichés you noticed? Why do you think these clichés continue to come up in horror movies?

Movie Details

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