User reviews

I'm a fan of Aaron Eckhart so that was my main draw to see Incarnate.

The good: The film doesn't insult you by explaining everything at once, it does this through the action and dialogue sequences which are OKAY. Aaron delivers a solid performance here, and so does David Mazouz, the kid that plays Bruce Wayne in the Gotham TV series. The story is moderately interesting and reminds me a bit of Inception.

The Meh/Bad: The directing is often a bit ham-fisted and clunky. The script wasn't particularly brilliant but was OKAY. Didn't care much for the cop-out ending although that's a minor complaint.

Bottom line is, don't expect a masterpiece or above average film. Its a nice film to kill an hour and a half with.

The movie takes some getting use to as it's a little off on genres.

Not a typical ghost story, Aaron Eckhart plays a doctor Who takes a very non religious method in exercising demons by using a gift he has to enter the minds of those "infected" by supernatural parasites and evicting as he calls it, the spirit by making its host realize that the perfect world the demon has created in its dreams is not real.

I was kinda expecting more of a horror movie theme but it's not that. that's what is a little off. It's not scary and it's not trying to scare you (At least I think, cause if it is it does do a bad job of it). It feels more like it's exploring or expanding the concept of a religious-less exercisium with a little background story to keep it interesting and keep it moving.

But it's a good movie to watch.

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It started with an interesting twist on the concept of demons and possession:

What if demons are actual creatures? Only they're mental parasites that feed off the energy of their hosts. They pass to new hosts through touch and, having no body of their own to die of old age, are immortal as long as they jump to a new host before their old one dies, or are without a body for too long. To keep their host from ejecting them, they create an idealized inner fantasy to trap their victims in their own minds, distracting them from the fact that they've been invaded by a parasite. Based on this premise, any act that brings awareness to the possessed empowers them to dispel their demons. So, traditional exorcisms work, but therapeutic, scientific treatments are also effective.

Unfortunately, the execution of this concept is fumbling.

Stereotypical in a not-fun, but predictable and riddled with plot-holes way, the film tries to be action-y, but is too dull, and tries to be a horror, but isn't scary at all.

While not a truly horrible movie, most of the acting is over-done and the pacing thick with "hurry up and wait".

Enter Dr. Ember, our hero.

He's the surly, unwashed, Constantine-wannabe who uses science and a bad attitude to "evict" demons by entering their host's minds Inception-style and attempting to wake them up. Demon's know Dr. Ember by name and are out to get him personally.

For some reason.

I call Dr. Ember a Constantine-wannabe since his character is a pale copy of the iconic supernatural anti-hero, with all of the disgruntled grumble, but none of the charm or flash. The audience is left wondering why on earth demons think he's worth the time to bother.

The actor was going for gritty, but ended up seeming homeless.

The film's promises of scientific means for exorcism cop out when, though eased by the elaborate tech setup, Dr. Ember mainly relies on inborn supernatural talent to visit other's minds.

Once there, viewers will be disappointed in the mediocrity of the dreamscapes he visits.

In short, there are far, far better action, horror, and action- horror films to waste you time on, but if there is absolutely nothing else on, or you're intrigued by the unfulfilled concept, watching this won't be too painful.

As a die-hard horror fan, a fan of Demonic Possession films, and a fan of great acting, I immediately wrote off this movie as being another Hollywood cash grab. Blumhouse is the worst thing to happen to horror since Rob Zombie started making movies, so seeing as this is another bullet to add to their arsenal in murdering the horror genre, I was weary about watching it. Couple that with the film not having any marketing up until a few weeks before it was released, and all of the signs pointed to a very half-a$$ed film to join the ranks of all of the other failed horror films of the last 10 years. After watching it, however, I am very glad to have been proved wrong. Incarnate ended up being original, entertaining, and the acting was really top notch, especially that of the three leads.

The problem I have with Possession films is that they rarely deviate from the formula; girl is possessed. Family calls priest. Priest needs okay from Vatican. Priest battles demon. One of more people die. The end. That has been the premise of every possession film of the last few years. Surprisingly, this movie goes completely left field, not adhering to any of the clichés that make the genre so deathly stagnant. The demon is now a "spirit parasite", the girl is replaced by a boy, there is no Catholic priest in sight, and the people who die actually deserve it this time. The movie does so many things right that it is really easy to overlook the things is gets wrong, and everything from the special effects to the script is written with an actual appreciation of what makes these movies entertaining in the first place. Sure, some parts are cheesy and straight out of the horror handbook, but when they are handled this well, does anyone really care? It's much better than the abominations we have gotten in the past, like The Last Exorcism or The Vatican Tapes.

Overall, if you like Possession films, good acting, and movies that are not made for children and teenagers, give this film a shot. You just might like what you see. I was thoroughly impressed by this, and although Blumhouse has a long way to redeeming itself, this is a great first step. A solid effort all around.

There are a lot of horror movies written about demons and being possessed. The movie Incarnate tries to give it a different perspective by separating it from the religion. It could have been way better if the script were little bit different but honestly, I do not recommend watching it but if you are really bored and have nothing else to deal with go ahead.

I was bored so I went and saw this movie. I'm lucky that I have an unlimited pass for the theater so the quality doesn't matter. But if you are not so fortunate and you have to pay for the ticket then please. Save your time and go to McDonald's instead.

The movie starts with an super cliché intro. During the film they have more cliché dialog. and the worst part was that halfway thru the movie Catalina Sandino Moreno pulls Dr. Ember aside for a personal conversation if he wants go thru with his research cause it seems so dangerous. This stupid conversation lasts 2 lines. I'm sorry but if I wrote the movie she didn't needed him to pull aside for 2 lines of are you sure?

The only positive comment I can make on this movie was this part when he entered the boys mind and the transition was done with no cuts. yet it was kinda stolen of conjuring 2.

TLDR; It's a movie full of cliché cliffhangers and dialog. Not worth the money. Very badly acted. Just another demon movie with their only help.

I'll simply say this about Incarnate, if you're looking for a film that is in the vein of Insidious or some other horror film that relies on the viewer actually paying attention to the story over the typical guts and gore, then you're in luck. However, if you're looking to just kill an hour and a half with something mindless, look elsewhere. This movie, while by no means perfect, is also highly underrated and at least tries to put its' own twist on the whole possession sub-genre. Don't let the negative rating or reviews put you off, this is one film that you'll regret not viewing several years later. In this viewer's opinion, this is a future cult classic.

With the horror genre running on a low tank of original ideas, this film continues on a string of uninspiring horror flicks with nothing to grant beyond formula and rundown clichés. That is not say to director Brad Peyton could not have made this idea work, even if it involved retreading a few seen-it-before elements. Unfortunately, his execution and the competent performances by the cast including Aaron Eckhart fail to save this movie from falling to a drivel. The only thing keeping this movie from falling into absolute obscurity maybe Peyton's small delivery of thrills that manage to once or twice and the performances the cast manages to dig up. Nonetheless, it is a thoroughly forgettable ride from nearly start to finish. So what is the story here? Aaron Eckhart plays Dr. Seth Ember, a paranormal scientist with the ability to enter inside other people's minds and cast out the demons that plague them. Ember himself suffers from a troubled past with the death of his wife and son in a car accident. When a young boy named Cameron Sparrow (played by David Mazouz) is unexpectedly possessed by a demonic entity, his mother (played by Carice Van Houton) must enlist the help of Ember and his colleagues Camilla (played by Catalina Sandino Moreno) and Oliver (played by Keir O'Donnell) to journey inside Cameron's subconscious mind in order to fight off the demon that possesses him.

The movie is not completely devoid of scares, at least after the first third when the plot finally kicks in. Sadly, the scares come very few and far in between to the point where it hammers you with the urge to check your watch multiple times before the end credits appear. The film spends most of its time borrowing elements of films like 'Insidious' which follows a concept nearly identical to this one with a child being possessed and another human forced to enter through their mind to save them. In the process, it wastes its already-short potential on cheap jump scares and creepy imagery that never quite lands. Is the sight of people turning their eyes black and morphing into demons supposed to be scary? Is adding enough blood and gore to push the PG-13 rating to the brink supposed to add a sense of tension? If so, Brad Peyton certainly fails to make both of these work here. The film also has some half-successful attempts at emotional resonance which is greatly incorporated in Dr. Seth Ember's background dealing with the loss of his wife and child in a car wreck, and Ember hoping to gain redemption from performing this experiment on Cameron. In terms of acting, Aaron Eckhart does okay but clearly seems bored in the role. Carice Van Houton does her job in the role of the child' mother as does David Mouzez as the creepily possessed kid. But it is enough to raise spend chills down your spine? Unless you are easily scared back by a child talking in a demonic voice, there is nothing to be truly startled about.

Incarnate is a disappointing supernatural horror piece that offers more of a snoozer than a satisfying scarefest. By the end, it is very easy to forget about that. Brad Peyton tries to invent a good horror picture, but his efforts come to frail results.

I seem to be forced to write a review every now and then to counter the teens and 20 somethings that think they need to review every freaking thing in front of their heads. As an adult I can say comparatively speaking in regards to Exorcism, Possession, Evil doings and all things of the nether world this flick is worth the ticket. Aaron plays his role out fantastically (enough that I teared up at times) and until the end of the movie you will see the moments that hearken back to the decades previous releases but this one certainly offers a unique twist on the understanding of good vs. evil.

I found myself nodding early on as a former Catholic and someone who just read way too much to keep believing in Santa Clause or religious super heroes I will say that I have plenty of room in my mind for universe yet untold that retains the secrets of untold, infinite galaxies (Hubble has scratched the surface and soon a new version of Hubble will be hurtling around the Earth).

The cast is just fine and spot on with the sincerity in which they convey their emotional portrayals. I know full well there have been other releases over the last 7 years that fulfill most of the requirements of this genre but Incarnate has heart and an emotional connection I thought was somewhat left out or diminished in the other movies of this similar nature.

As we hear Aaron's arch nemesis character say in the movie "There are some things far worse than death"

This is a high class thoughtful sci-fi horror thriller. A scientist strives to save a child possessed by evil. The unique feature of the movie is that the devil enters the subconscious mind by means of creating a fake reality to snare victims; the scientist has found a way to enter into that fake reality in an attempt to combat the forces of darkness. The lead actor,Aaron Eckhart, gives a stunningly realistic portrayal of a totally driven but wretchedly troubled individual. Very impressive production and direction and whilst I felt the climax could and should of been different, I give this picture 7 and a half, rounded down:

7/10.

Too many reviews feel the need to offer a summary but I like to go on the assumption you know that by now. This movie was not as good as I thought it would be to be honest. I was excited by the trailer because it looked like an interesting new take on possession films but it was just not executed that great to me. Normally I see films these days and think it really didn't have to be 2 or 2 and a half hours long but Incarnate is the opposite. This movie craved more time. There's a reason why Constantine was 2 hours. The concept was also similar to The Cell as far as entering the subject's mind which can only have so much science in it as it's impossible. However unlike Constantine there's not enough supernatural background information to support the story. It was basically just I have a gift to go into possessed people's minds. Why can he only enter the minds of possessed? How long has he known he could? Are there others like him? What caused this gift? Inate? Or near death experience? Also this Maggie demon (which isn't typical as all angels including the fallen are historically male though I know why they call the demon this name it just sounds inaccurate) so obsessed with torturing him? No reason mentioned. So its not a bad movie at all but it starts out strong and ends weak like a mixed drink. It needed to be longer. It felt so rushed like it thought it was an episode of X-files and had to be done in 45 min. Pretty sure if it had been an X-files episode it would've been a 2 or 3 parter. Also great cast with the exception of the mother. She almost looked bored the whole movie as if her child wasn't possessed. She really needed to take notes from Ellen Burstyn. To sum up its similar to movies that were executed better. Constantine and The Cell to me. Others say Insidious but since I think those movies were crap I rather prefer Incarnate. Two thumbs up for trying to be different but honestly surprised this wasn't a straight to DVD.

The plot: a bitter scientist who can enter other people's dreams becomes an exorcist to hunt down the demon that killed his family.

If you're a fan of Aaron Eckhart, how could you not find this concept exciting? The problem is that the film gives you all kinds of promises and fails to deliver on any of them. Every step of the way, you're left thinking to yourself, "This movie could have been awesome." With such an over-the-top, absurd premise, you could have really gone crazy. Instead, it's by-the-numbers.

The dream sequences in particular could have been memorable. Remember The Cell by Tarsem Singh? That wasn't a great movie, but the dream sequences were great. Imagine what someone like David Cronenberg could have done with this concept! Instead, what do we get? A generic nightclub. A generic carnival. A generic park. When music videos from the 1990s look more visionary -- and disturbing -- than your horror movie, that's a problem.

Perhaps one of the more perplexing aspects of the story is that our hero rejects spiritual mumbo jumbo when it comes to demons, but he uses psychic powers to fight them. I suspect this was done to explain why he must fight the demons personally. But given that he's already obsessed with vengeance, why can't that be enough? Why does he also need superpowers?

The story is OK, but it often feels like it could have been so much more. Despite throwing several interesting ideas at you, it never rises above the pedestrian elevator pitch: "Fallen meets Inception". However, it's not boring, which is truly the only unforgivable sin in a horror movie.

For what it was, I thought this was an enjoyable film. The character work was fairly lazy with no real exceptions, and the storyline was a bit of rinse and repeat from many films that have come before it, but despite that, I can't deny that this film ended up being a bit of guilty pleasure for me. I think the conclusion of the film could have bed led up to a little bit better in terms of character progression, but I don't think it was TOO much of a stretch to believe. Overall, this was a film where I could just sit back and enjoy a good drama for two hours, and because of that, I don't think this movie was anywhere near the worst thing I've seen so far this year.

I watched this because Aaron Eckhart stars and it's hard to believe that he would choose a script that is truly terrible... unless someone either has something embarrassing on the man. And that must be the case. While Eckhart tries his best to be the wheelchair bound man who tries to get into people's minds to "evict" demons, this dud cannot be redeemed from its own demons.

So what is so terrible about this film? It's as if the writers just came up with a concept and were too lazy to think about whether it made sense. And the director just allows an amorphous concept - something about demons possessing a body by convincing the mind of the victim that it was getting what it desires in a dream state - it is all lightly explained gobbledygook. The awkwardness in the script plays out among the actors and it feels like a poor man's B-movie. As others have said, it's something akin to Constantine meets Inception and the Exorcist, borrowing concepts and not doing a very convincing job of getting the audience to buy into the mumbo jumbo jargon that they hope you won't too think too deeply about.

Here's the entire movie in a nutshell, clichés excluded. Man whose family was killed by a person who was possessed by a demon agrees to exorcise a boy who is possessed by a demon that he believes is the same. There are no real twists in this movie and even every semi- twist in the ending can be guessed by the audience by a writer who thought he was really clever. We've seen this all before a million times and much better. Poor Aaron. This one is a real career killer.

I enjoyed this genuinely frightening addition to the demonic possession genre. It has an intriguing take on possession, but these ideas could have been more developed. Still, it's better than its mostly negative reviews would suggest. It plays with the tropes of the genre, trying to give them a quasi-scientific spin. It is more watchable than most movies of the genre, probably because of the cast. The usually handsome, lantern jawed Aaron Eckhart plays against type, uncharacteristically unshaven and disheveled as a broken man with unwanted abilities. The sad faced actor(didn't catch his name) playing the alcoholic father is quite moving as well. There are a few twists, and it gets under the skin quite effectively.

As far as Possession movies go there really isn't a whole lot left to do, and most films on the subject tend to not try anything new at all. That's where "Incarnate" stands out, the film does try to approach possession in a different and more science fiction way which on paper seemed like it could be really interesting, but unfortunately the execution was so basic that the whole thing ended up feeling really flat.

The film opens fairly promising, the opening scene kind of has an eighties horror feel to it and that continues on through the opening credit which I really dug. But from there the movie starts to take on a very strange vibe, the overall tone is serious but some of the characters and lines just felt like they were bordering on parody. Some parts of the movie were just so dumb that it was impossible to take it seriously. The main character (played by Aaron Eckhart) speaks in a very gruff severe tone and honestly I found myself laughing at his delivery on some of the lines. Eckhart is a good actor but his performance here was a little comical.

With all that said though the film does manage to be entertaining for the majority of it's run time. It's a very short film (clocking in just under an hour and twenty minutes) and the pacing is very quick so boredom was never really a big issue. So if you are interested in some cheap thrills and you are not easily put off by very dumb/cheesy movies than you may find yourself enjoying this.

5/10

For a movie panned by almost all critics and the majority of fans, I only watched this because I was idling at the computer and wanted a distraction. Also I usually enjoy Aaron Eckhart in his craft. After about two scenes of worthy dialog in I became latched and realized why it had some buzz (script, cast).

The story-line has worthy elements, and it competes well with other 'possession' films. I do not scare from horror, but enjoy digesting it for social understanding of what gets beneath the skin of common folk. I really enjoyed The Order and The Rite as well if that helps.

The cast was great and I feel they exceeded the quality of its worthy script -- the best part of the final product.

This movie will likely not be your favorite movie in any level of context... movies generally, dramatic horrors, films about possession. I still believe it's worth the view for anyone who is into any of those things or any of the primary cast as they all bring the value.

My biggest complaint is the director and / or the editor... there were some early shots scenes and music scores that almost convinced me to turn it off and move on. Horror doesn't need help from 'camp'. Because I weathered those I got to bits that mattered and then the meat of the film proved interesting (atheist, raised Catholic, if you feel that detail matters).

Special kudos to Eckhart's agent for finding yet another off- the-beaten-path script for him to bring his talent to. He will always be remembered for Harvey Dent of course, but for me films like "I Frankenstein", "Thank You for Smoking", and this one are roles I will ultimately most cherish him for.

Understand this up front, this film is *not* for everyone. My ratings / appreciations are my own and I tried to express my appreciations in such a way that the folks who would appreciate it will know who they are up front.

"I tear down the lies." Dr. Ember (Eckhart) has a special ability. He is able to enter the subconscious of those that are possessed and free them from their torment. He takes a job helping a young boy, but it proves to be more difficult that anything he's ever tried before. This is a movie that tried to be different. Most exorcism movies follow the same formula. This one combined the exorcist genre with the feel of Poltergeist. Unfortunately, the idea turned out better than the movie. Eckhart was good in this but it just lacked depth and emotion. It was watchable but I've can't remember the last time I saw a movie that stumbled to the end as badly as this one did. It seemed to veer off of the path it was on in the last half hour and left me confused and really took me out of the movie. Horror fans that aren't concerned with an actual story may like this one, I did not. Overall, the first misstep in Eckart's career in a long time. A movie that just didn't know what it wanted to be and it showed. I give this a low C-.

After watching the trailer of the movie i wasn't expecting something special or amazing but instead a watchable horror film, and since I am a fan of the genre i decided to give it a go.

I'm not disappointed and not amazed either, i expected a 6 or a 7/10 film and i got one. It's a film where they try too hard to make it look like a decent film with a genius idea, but unfortunately it doesn't work as expected because it doesn't fill the horror factor, the movie isn't scary at all because you know it's just fiction.

The problem with this film is that it tries to put too much Sci-fi in it that eventually you even doubt you're watching a horror film, is it horror is it sci-fi, the movie doesn't know what it wants to be so it just mixes both of them and not in a good way.

The reason i give this a 7/10 is because it tried something new, and it was brave enough to do it even if it wasn't perfect, but overall it's an enjoyable flick that you could just watch when you're bored on a Sunday afternoon.

Dr. Seth Ember has the ability to enter the subconscious minds of the possessed people and evict the demon inside them. Seth is in a wheelchair and his family died due to an accident caused by Maggie entity. One day Vatican called Ember to inform him that a 11 year old boy is possessed by Maggie's entity. It's a supernatural horror flick that has nothing much to offer. Without making much difference goes some twist and turns. Brad Peyton keeps the movie in dark atmosphere and to be frank, it's a complete waste of time. Eckhart's acting is the only thing that matters in this flick.

Promising intro but then gets stereotypical with soppy and dull dialog. Exorcism cliches prevail over the more original aspects of the script.

Eckhart talks in that annoying "hey I'm so cool and dangerous" BS movie-whisper voice, similarly to Bruce Willis, Steven Segal and Alec Baldwin. The only actor that could get away with it was Clint Eastwood, and even he didn't whisper as much. These insecure fools need to stop impersonating Eastwood.

The conclusion is more interesting than the large dull middle but it's riddled with cliches and predictable twists.