Incarnate (2016)

“Incarnate” stars Aaron Eckhart, Carice van Houten, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and David Mazouz.  Released on December 2, 2016, the film is about an exorcist who confronts a demon from his past while trying to save an 11-year-old boy.

The film is directed by Brad Peyton, who also directed Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, and San Andreas.  When we’re celebrating the holiday season, we usually watch Christmas-themed films that’ll give us that good, warm feeling inside.  This film, however, isn’t one of them.  This film gives us the opposite.  In fact, it should’ve been released around Halloween, but nope, they thought releasing it in December would be a good idea.  Am I the only one who can see what’s wrong with this picture?  Anyway, this is the latest horror film that does something a little bit different than what we usually see in most exorcism films, but does it fully pay off?

Pros:
The performances were decent.  Aaron Eckhart was impressive as Dr. Seth Ember.

The effects were pretty good despite its small budget.

Passable screenplay.

Cons:
The story and its concept could’ve been explored more.

Most of the dialogue was meh.

Not a fan of the ending.

Final thoughts: “Incarnate” benefits from Eckhart’s performance and its somewhat decent effects.  What it lacked in general was its ability to go further into its own subconscious.  There were plenty of moments that I found enjoyable, but I was hoping that it would explore its own concept a bit more.  While not as forgettable as Blumhouse Tilt’s last film, The Darkness, it’s a simple exorcism film that has an interesting concept, but its execution was a bit weak.  If you’re planning on seeing it because you like exorcism films, I would say see it at a matinee price.  Otherwise, wait until it’s on television.

C-