Today, we are looking at Incantation, Taiwan’s highest grossing horror movie.

• Directed by Kevin Ko
• Written by Che-Wei Chang Kevin Ko
• Starring: Hsuan-yen Tsai, Sin-Ting Huang, Ying-Hsuan Kao

I’ve always had an interest in international horror. I touched on my whole “movie snob” era here, but at least I got to watch a lot of good movies out of those insufferable years.  Japanese films were a gateway into a broader world of horizon-broadening horrors. Korean and Thai horror have some of my favorite films. But what about China?

As I understand it, the CCP prohibits superstitious belief and banned these subjects in film.   The government believes that if people see movies with supernatural elements, they will believe in them. This limits a lot of subgenres for horror. The movies that do get made have scientific explanations for any supernatural occurrences revealed at the end.

Taiwan does not have the same restrictions, and has released some incredible supernatural horror, as well as gory zombie movies. For an absolutely harrowing experience check out The Sadness, but be warned, the name pretty much tells you how it’s going to go.

Review and Recap Spoilers Ahead

Incantation is a found-footage movie based on a true story.  It starts with a haunting and thought-provoking opening as Rou-nan, the main character, talks about the nature of blessings and the power of thought. It then jumps from one disturbing event to the next as we witness the brutal impact a curse has had on her life, and she pleads to the audience for help, teaching us an incantation to help her.

The story unfolds in a non-linear manner as we get the current day, “new life diary” Rou-nan is filming for her daughter Dodo to commemorate her returning from foster care.  Dodo is a bright, happy girl with a strong connection to Ming, the man who runs the foster home.

A Child You Want to Root For

I don’t usually love kids in horror movies; using them skews emotionally manipulative. Sing-ting Huang, who plays Dodo, is different however. She’s adorable and believable and, unlike the kids in Nosferatu, I only wanted good things to happen for her.

But it’s going to take some work to get there. Rou-nan was in a mental institution because of all the misfortune she was experiencing. This includes multiple deaths around her, including the suicides of police officers she went to for help. This is shown through security camera footage, preserving the found-footage narrative.

Immediately after their happy reunion and a joyful scene where Rou-nan is teaching Dodo how to write her given name, strange things start happening in their apartment. The young girl appears to be possessed, and her colored pencils form the shape of a strange sigil.

Incantation then cuts back to 6 years ago, when a newly pregnant Rou-nan was part of superstition-busting video channel with her boyfriend and his cousin.  They were visiting the boyfriend’s remote home village, unaware of their family religion. While there, they disrupt a ritual and break the taboo, resulting in the death of the boyfriend and cousin, and the curse on Rou-nan.

The True Story

The remote village and their religion were inspired by a real incident that occurred in Taiwan. Because I recently covered a movie that handled real life inspiration in a manner I found objectionable, I wanted to highlight one that did a better job drawing inspiration from the horrors of the real word, without diminishing the victims.

In 2005, a family in Gushan District claimed to be possessed by Chinese folk religion deities, and accused each other of demonic possession.  They eventually focused on the oldest daughter, resulting in her death.  The family was arrested for the incident, as it was considered mass hysteria.

Modifying Inspiration

Incantation is inspired by a family’s possession by an unfriendly deity. But director Kevin Ko went to great lengths to separate his story from reality. The religion practiced in his remote village, as well as all its associated symbols, rituals, and chants, are invented. While Mother Buddha, the deity of this religion, may have been influenced by elements of Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism, she is fictional.

After watching, I researched the director, and while his point of view didn’t need further clarification, it was nice to get more information about his influences. Ko was careful in his adaptation.  He wanted to focus on three core points without directly adapting the true-life events.  First was his horror at discovering that people would behave in this manner in Taiwan; that these mysterious beliefs could exist in a modern setting. Second was his compulsion to keep watching the news, which led to the found-footage nature of Incantation, and perhaps the non-linear storytelling.  It feels like flipping through news footage on the day of an atrocity; chaotic and horrible, but something you have to keep watching.

The third element he wanted to include is part of the treatment: Dodo is unable to eat for many days. This is one of the few direct elements from the real-life incident.

Back to Fiction

The second half of Incantation focuses on Rou-nan struggling to remove the curse from Dodo.  There are some significant twists in Rou-nan’s character towards the end, so skip this section if you don’t want to be spoiled. 

As Dodo gets worse, we learn more about the religion and their deity Mother Buddha. The village has been designating a young girl as the “chosen child” who can communicate with the god and will eventually be sacrificed to her.  On her first visit to the village, the chosen child knew Rou-nan was pregnant and named her child. Mother Buddha wants Dodo.

To break the curse, Ming makes a trip to an old Tibetan monk to get information in the curse; while there, he views footage from the original trip into the tunnel. What he sees is so horrific, it kills him. He was a good man, and his fate is horrible, especially since Rou-nan already made the same trip after surviving her encounter in the village.

LAST MAJOR Spoiler Warning

Everything Rou-nan has done up unto now has been self-serving.  She has intended to give her child to Mother Buddha. She sacrificed Ming in hopes that sharing the curse with him would be enough to dilute it from her.

But, caring for the curse-afflicted Dodo changes her.

Things You Might Have Missed if You Don’t Read Hanzi

You have to give your real name to Mother Buddha. On the first day she brings Dodo home, she teachers her daughter to write the name “Chen Letong”, the name given to her in the village.  This detail changes Rou-nan’s initial motivation and reframes the connection she feels to her daughter. It isn’t until she tries to care for Dodo in her most weakened state that her maternal instinct starts to kick in.

When it does, Incantation breaks your heart in a different way. Rou-nan makes a final video about her fears of motherhood, and tells Dodo she won’t hurt her anymore.  She leaves her in the care of the hospital and, after buying her everything the little girl ever wanted, returns custody to the foster house.

Rou-nan’s story come full circle as she finally tells the truth. The incantation she taught the audience was never a blessing; it’s an offering to share the curse. Rou-nan completes this by returning to the tunnel where they first broke the taboos, completing the rituals. She then unveils the statue of Mother Budda, sharing the full weight of the curse with the audience.  She is unable to withstand the horror of Mother Buddha and dies.

The last shot of the movie is Dodo, finally happy, healthy, and thriving.

Cultural References

There are some fascinating reviews on Incantation written by people with closer ties to the culture and religions that inspired the curse. I can only review from my limited perspective, no matter how much research i do.

I always wonder if I’m getting the whole story watching subtitled international movies. I’ve seen some bad translations, and there can be subtle differences in words that change context.  There is also a lot of baked-in cultural subtext that is easily missed when watching films from other cultures.

There is a lot to dig into in Incantation with its deity and religion. While the men of the village do a lot of the talking, the presence of an older woman who leads the rituals, the female chosen child, and the Mother Buddha reinforce the complex themes on motherhood and sacrifice.  Opening the weight of the curse up to the world is an interesting concept that, in the context of raising children, takes on a new perspective.  Incantation brings up questions of shared social burdens. Not equal burdens, but maybe we all have a hand in shaping future generations. In the end, we are all accountable to each other after all.

Final Thoughts

I love Incantation. Its non-linear storytelling, deep themes, and twists make it a horrifying and compelling tale. It’s not the fastest paced or goriest movie, but the emotional payoff is worth it. It also has one of the better monster reveals I’ve ever seen. If you’re a fan of tense-found footage horror, there is a lot to enjoy.

Incantation is available on Netflix

Check out other horror reviews here:

• Exhume
• Nosferatu
• Last Straw