Ringside Report Reviews Incantation on Netflix

By Janet Grace

The tale is based on a true story which circulated Asian news in 2005, surrounding a family of deity worshippers that became possessed.

I believe that what I understood with English dubbing and read on the English closed captions may not have carried the necessary subtlety and/or nuances required to convey the actual synopsis of the story and plot. They differ between what I believe was being stated was happening and what other reviewers were writing they’d watched.

This film, which aired on Netflix the first week of July, had already blown up the Chinese/Mandarin box offices as the highest-grossing horror film since its release in March 2022, and their review of the storyline differs from mine. Netflix’s media news showed they’d acquired the scariest horror film ever.

What I understood the movie to be based on, was this:

Three Young Kids trash a highly sacred holy site belonging to what turns out to be a vengeful deity, and they get what’s coming to them, eventually.

Six years later, one of the kids, now a mother, films a blog asking everyone to help her end any consequences which may befall her innocent babe, attached to the curse. Mom was pregnant when she violated the sacred temple, unknowingly involving her tiny one.

A Truth Twist Plot added onto an epilogue for those brave enough to wait until the very end, may have raised my rating a tad.

I began this review by giving it a three, at best; however, something was off with my assessment because the folks watching and understanding this film in its original Chinese, Mandarin, Taiwanese, have been holding onto their prayer beads since this movie came out in March, 2022.

Unfortunately folks, the best of this movie was lost in translation.

Reading reviews for answers in several other languages, it turns out that those of us watching English dubbing were cheated out of what is being reviewed as one of the best Asian horror flicks yet.

The appeal that this movie has, is that it comes with a living curse to the viewers, at no extra charge. You watch it and share in the curse.

Had I known that, I would’ve skipped this particular flick. I’m not one to tempt the Ages.

There is no wonder that this tiny caveat would “bring all the boys to the yard”.

Older cultures steeped in the knowledge of centuries surrounding the Universe, Ying and Yang, Good vs Evil, Angels and Demons, of working with the Powers That Be, told that a living curse comes with the viewing? How many dare devils can you pack in a theater? You KNOW the kids are going to jump in to test that theory!

If you can only watch it in English, skip this one. Ladies and Gents, They, Them, Theirs, Others, and Children of All Ages.

This mockumentary, “Blair-Witch”, “The Ring”, “Paranormal Activities” flick’s English dubbing misses the heart in many ways. It would take some incantations to save us from having been subjected to the plethora of dubbing fumbles. The question here is: Isn’t it easier to change the channel? “Baaaaaad, baaaad”, pun intended.

I rate it as an: “You Owe Me One”, due to my having emerged from the viewing regretting the two hours lost. I can attest to having watched it in its entirety. The hardest part was attempting to remain unbiased, non-judgmental, open to hope; yet, my head continued to move side to side; disapprovingly. They lost me upon trashing a sacred site, but that’s me.

Clear across the board, multi-lingual fans are sharing the same reviews online. It really kicks ass, but not in the English sub. If you watch the closed captions at the same time you’re watching them dubbed in English, the captions do not match the dub.

You’re going to have to skip it or watch it. I don’t think I can honestly rate it anything above a three based on what I saw.

IMDb rated this a 6.2/10, which stands for barely watchable. I believe this low rating was caused by those of us subjected to low budget dubbing on what may just be an otherwise excellent film voting along with those who were able to understand its full message.

Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 6.2. Their understanding and description was similar to mine.

Written by: Che-Wei and Kevin Ko.
Directed by: Kevin Ko.
Cast:
• Hsuan-yen Tsai
• Ying-Hsuan Kao
• Sean Lin
• Mohamed Elgendy
• Ahmed Shawky Shaheen

I invite those of you unafraid to tempt the curses that be, to give it a viewing and let me know your thoughts.

Peace/Out

JG )O(