Incantation is a Taiwanese horror film released on Netflix in 2022. The film sees director Kevin Ko return to his horror roots. This is the first film of his that I’ve seen, but if this is to be any yardstick, I’ll be seeking out Invitation Only as well as keeping my eyes open for future movies.
Six years prior to the start of the main story of the film, Li Ruo-nan (Hsuan-yen Tsai) and her friends, brothers Chen Chen-yuan and Li-tung (Ching-Yu Wen and Sean Lin), fancy themselves Ghost Busters and travel to a remote village of relatives to get footage of a mysterious religious ceremony. Becoming increasingly scared that something sinister is happening beyond kooky country beliefs, the trio break a religious taboo. Now, in present day, Li is regaining custody of her daughter after struggling with mental illness. Li must grapple with the terrifying reality of what happened that night while her daughter takes the brunt of its consequences.
The opening of the film starts with Li addresses the audience directly, asking them to participate in some visual mind games about changing perception. This kind of direct address works well for a found footage movie, a genre I don’t normally care for. The film is set up as a video diary for Li’s daughter, Dodo, which justifies the sometimes absurd lengths the story goes to to keep the camera rolling. There are aspects of the story that I don’t think would work as a conventionally shot film. Fans of the form should have no trouble suspending their disbelief.
There is a good balance of jump scares and quietly disturbing imagery, particularly playing off of trypophobia. Being unfamiliar with Taiwanese religions and traditions, I don’t think that I understood all of the nuance or imagery that there was to the story, but that only means that there’s more to dig into with repeated viewings and reading. Hsuan-yen’s portrayal of Li as a young mother losing her grip on sanity as she reconciles superstition, modern mental illness, and reality is never over the top and serves as the vehicle of the story. I’d recommend it based on her performance alone because, while the story is strong, it’s a variation on what I feel is a well worn story, one which is nonetheless still scary and exciting.
