“THE INCARNATION” (2022) SHOWS US OWNING A HOME IS SCARIER THAN WE THOUGHT

Marriage is always a two-person adventure. It is usually never one-sided but both parties are always going through things together. This is usually the case in most horror movies. The husband and wife tend to fight off whatever protagonist is trying to tear them apart or quite literally tear them apart. We have seen it many times repeatedly, but the good thing is each time we see it there tends to be a few twists and turns along the way. A great example is movies like “Vacancy” or “The Strangers” where the husband and wife are fighting together. Sure, there are other movies where one spouse is facing off against each other such as “The Stepfather” or “Rosemary’s Baby”, but sometimes a surprise face-off or surprise twist is what we all look forward to.

Relationships within horror movies are usually a dime a dozen. You always see roughly 1-3 couples in most horror movies. Sometimes the couple is some side characters or sometimes a relationship happens at the end of the movie after surviving an insane night of terror. No matter what type of horror fan you are, you usually keep tabs on who is a couple because you are wondering who is going to be killed off first. That is usually what a horror movie is compared to big-time horror movie fans these days. Making those one-off bets with yourself or friends on who the killer is, or who will be killed off first. It’s an addiction we horror fans tend to not hide from others. A horror movie is basically just a roulette table we are each putting our bets on and hope that we turn out to be the victor. 

Recently I got a chance to watch the demonic horror film “Incarnation” from 101 Films. This movie is directed by Isaac Walsh. It was also written by both Tyler Clair Smith and Isaac Walsh. The movie stars Taye Diggs, Jessica Uberuaga, and Michael Madsen. The movie revolves around struggling couple Brad (portrayed by Taye Diggs) and Jess (portrayed by Jessica Uberuaga) as they move to LA in hopes of a better life and not being stopped by their crippling debt. They stumble across an amazing home, which they jump on to getting as quickly as they can. While in their new home they feel a presence there. 

I will say that some of my favorite parts around this movie revolve around Brad (Taye Diggs) and his “Oh hell no” responses when something spooky happens after he investigates noises in their new home. Honestly, it is super relatable and hilarious to me. I have been in my home for over a year now and every time I am working in my home office alone, I hear those strange house noises. It gives me that whole “Oh hell no” type of attitude too when it sounds too spooky. No one likes house noises, especially if you are home alone or at night. 

This keeps happening for a few nights until Jess (Jessica Uberuaga) gets trapped in the room after investigating noises while she is cooking. It is a pretty scary aspect to think you are trapped in a room while home alone and your oven is going. Thankfully Brad shows up to save the day and stop it from getting worse. Before she is “freed” from the room she finds a bag of gold coins and a clearly old evil leather book. They both end up doing research on the coins and find out that they are religious relics, that are possibly worth a lot. While talking about this Brad opens the book to see what is inside, gradually reading silently to himself.

Every time I see someone randomly reading an old book, they found hidden somewhere it makes me wonder if “The Evil Dead” only exists in our universe. It is the only explanation for why someone would read spells from a book just so nonchalant like they do and be surprised as to why something bad happens to them later in their story. I almost want Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams to walk in and bitch slap anyone who starts to read from an old evil book. Where is Ash Williams when you need him, right?

We also are introduced to the owner/landlord of their new home Peter (portrayed by Michael Madsen). Seeing Michael Madsen playing the character was a great addition to the film, considering the amazing roles that he has played throughout the years. Another thing with Michael Madsen that caught my attention was the wardrobe for his character Peter. Part of me wonders if he just came dressed in his usual clothes and said “I’m going to wear this. My character would probably wear this”. It seems the fun type of style he goes for and honestly it works pretty great. The whole ensemble works well for him and I am glad that they went for this look, whether it was just a random outfit he had or not. 

One of the continued arguments throughout the whole movie is the fight that Brad and Jess continue to have regarding having children. Brad seems always against it as he is constantly flashing back to an incident that he had with his father when he was a child. The argument gets more intense when Jess uses the last of their credit card funds in the amount of $30K to keep her eggs frozen so they can try to have kids one day. Brad ends up getting drunk and reads some things from the book that causes him to draw a pentagram (which as we all know has always worked out for people right?). 

As expected, a lot of weird things happen such as Jess seeing a dark figure around the house and even at one point being choked by it. The rest of the movie is pretty good with the ranges of devil worship, possession, and the sacrifice of an innocent soul. I won’t spoil it for you, but it is definitely enjoyable.

All in all, I would say that this movie has a lot of enjoyable gems in it. The relationship/acting between Taye Diggs and Jessica Uberuaga is phenomenal. They don’t just portray the great parts of marriage but all the struggles that come with it like debt, talk of future kids and etc. I also felt that their portrayal really felt as if they were a married couple and as I have said before it is not easy to do. Not only were Taye Diggs and Jessica Uberuaga great but Michael Madsen also had a lot of great range in his role in this movie. To me, this is a good time for a horror movie watch. I recommend checking this out, at least once to form your own opinion on it and find things in it you enjoyed. I feel confident this is one many people will add to their collection.

“Incarnation” from 101 Films is available on VOD and DVD now. Be sure to grab your copy today!

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