Incarnate (2016)

Directed by: Brad Peyton | 83 minutes | horror, thriller | Actors: Aaron Eckhart, Carice van Houten, Catalina Sandino Moreno, David Mazouz, Keir O’Donnell, Matt Nable, Emily Jackson, Paul Vincent O’Connor, Natalija Nogulich, John Pirruccello, Petra Sprecher, Breanne Hill, Emjay Anthony, Vanya Asher , Karolina Wydra

When her son Jake falls under the influence of an evil entity, terrified mother Lindsey (played by our Dutch beauty Carice van Houten) enlists the help of scientist and demon hunter Seth Ember. Ember has a unique gift: he is able to enter the mind of a possessed person and fight demons from within. But when the exorcist penetrates the haunted boy’s subconscious, a shocking and unforeseen discovery awaits him. Ember must quickly find a way to eliminate the nefarious tormentor before Jake faces the same dark fate as Ember’s own family.

Certainly since the enormous success of William Friedkins ‘The Exorcist’ (1973), demons, devils and other types of malicious ghostly apparitions have become an integral part of Hollywood. ‘Incarnate’ is also a film that can be added to the long list of stories in which exorcists, whether sanctioned or not, try to fight the seeds of supernatural evil. The film clearly draws inspiration from ‘The Exorcist’, but mixes this traditional horror pattern with surprising dream elements that occasionally remind a bit of Christopher Nolan’s labyrinthine epic ‘Inception’. In addition, demons in ‘Incarnate’ are also depicted in a slightly alternative way: they are more despicable parasites than almighty embodiments of a pernicious shadow world.

‘Incarnate’ is not a crap movie. Certainly the first hour is quite nice and blessed with a lot of speed and a pleasant pace of narration. Aaron Eckhart is on a roll as exorcist Seth Ember, a determined gentleman who fights with a militaristic fanaticism against the otherworldly horrors that plague humanity. Carice van Houten is also solid, as we are used to from her, although the script does not give her much room to really excel. Yet she spends an excessive amount of time crying, sobbing and mourning the disastrous fate that befell her son. As ‘Incarnate’ progresses, the film loses some credibility and the screenplay and the necessary horror clichés start to undermine the story somewhat. The final denouement is also just a bit too predictable to be really satisfying.

Although ‘Incarnate’ is not a brilliant film, the print still manages to entertain a large part of the more than ninety minutes. With better developed dialogues, a more balanced scenario and above all a stronger closing piece, it might even have earned an honorable mention in the annals of modern horror history.