Incarnation is a 2022 supernatural horror movie starring Taye Diggs (House on Haunted Hill, Chicago), Jessica Uberuaga (Melrose Place, Take Back), and Michael Madsen (Incarnation). It concerns the financial and familial travails of a young couple (sorta – Diggs is 51) who have recently moved into a sparsely furnished home in Somewhere, CA, rented to them by Peter (Madsen). But it soon transpires that not all is as it seems in this generic, way-too-big-for-two-people mansion/house. There is all manner of spooky flickering lights, a sinister leather-bound journal, and also for some reason crow feathers in a mouse trap…
Incarnation (2022) movie synopsis
It is present-day and plucky up-and-comers (sorta – Diggs is 51) Brad and Jess are just moving into their new digs, built by the father of mysterious gravel-voiced Budd-from-Kill-Bill dude, Peter (Madsen). Peter turns up to welcome the couple in an awkward, stilted conversation which appears to convey the impression that Peter is a bit of a creepy weirdo who may develop into a Nuisance Neighbor as the movie goes on.
Jess stares wistfully at the backyard, where a tree stump is conspicuously sitting in the earth. She informs Brad that she wants to grow something together with him. This is an obvious reference to the fact that Jess wants a child. It takes Brad a good minute to figure this out.
Brad decides to dig up the stump in the middle of the night with a trowel and a beer. Whilst doing this, Brad flashbacks to someone, presumably his father, telling him to pick up a tire iron and “finish this bitch”. This is a clear allusion to the fact that Brad has issues, and also that the stump is a metaphor for Brad’s unwillingness to have children or something.
The same evening, Brad is woken up by generic spooky noises. He goes across the hall to the spare bedroom, which is mysteriously locked. The door suddenly becomes unlocked of its own accord; Brad enters, illuminating the room with his phone light. He gets scared and drops the phone, but comes back for it on all fours. In the meanwhile, Jess creeps up behind him for a fake-out jump scare.
The next day, Jess is making French toast. After a crow kills itself by flying into a window, Jess decides to leave her toast on a high flame and investigate the locked upstairs room. After some to-and-froing, Jess exits the mysterious room with a generic filing box and passes out from the houseful of smoke the one frying pan has generated. Brad, apparently completely immune to smoke inhalation, puts the fire out and rescues her.
Jess celebrates her narrow escape with a wine glass of Gatorade. They find some old-looking gold coins and a leather notebook that looks like it was bought at the dollar store. The notebook is filled with creepy writing and pictures.
Brad later wakes up in the middle of the night again. He grabs a beer and starts reading the “Ritual of Invocation” aloud from the dollar-store notebook. A coin materializes in his hand. Brad is freaked out.
The next day, Peter pays a visit. Despite finding him weird and off-putting on his last visit, Brad spills his guts about his marital problems to this virtual stranger. Brad asks Peter about the dollar-store notebook, and Peter casually informs him that his dad was a bad guy who was involved in a mysterious secret society. Peter tells him to keep the book.
Brad and Jess experience a sudden reversal of fortune when they are given a grant for the church they’re working on converting into something. This is soured somewhat when it turns out that Jess has hitherto-unmentioned fertility issues and spent $30k on freezing her eggs without telling Brad. Brad freaks out because they have no money now.
Brad gets drunk and decides to do black magic on the floor. Jess interrupts him and is super freaked out. Jess then changes her mind, ritualistically mutilates her own arm, and splashes blood on the generic chalk pentagram thing Brad drew on the floor.
Brad decides to invite Peter to dinner to try to get him to invest in their renovated-church-cum-bar business project. Peter inexplicably gets super angry at this proposal and tries to leave. Brad smashes him over the head with a cut-glass decanter and locks him in the creepy room.
Jess freaks out when it turns out that Brad is keeping their landlord hostage in the spare bedroom, but then is fine about it. Brad tells her that they will force him to buy 20% of their business and then let him go. Jess is fine with this plan.
Jess wakes up in the middle of the night with a symbol carved into her partially flayed back. This is not an issue because she runs it under hot water. Brad decides that the only way to save his wife is to stab Peter over and over again. During this, he has flashbacks to when his dad beat a dog to death in front of him. This is an allusion to Brad’s tormented dark side.
Peter is apparently inexplicably still alive and sealed up in a box. Brad has to declare his loyalty to him for some reason.
Brad and Jess are now financially secure and have a baby on the way. Jessica is shocked because the doctors told her she’d never have children. Suddenly everything is bad because there are crow feathers in the coming baby’s crib.
Brad tells Jess to call the police on this demonic entity and gets stabbed to death by Peter, who is alive but with diabolical black eyes. Peter finds Jess in a closet and lunges at her.
Jess wakes up in a hospital with a scar on her belly. She screams about where’s my baby whilst the camera zooms out and nurses rush over. Meanwhile, in her house, Peter puts his hat on and walks away from a mysteriously dirty plate. This is a clear nod to the fact that if you mess with Michael Madsen he will eat your unborn children.
Incarnation (2022) production and release
The Incarnation (2022) was directed by Isaac Walsh and is notable for its very small cast of only five. Aside from the headlining Diggs, Uberuaga, and Madsen, only two other actors feature – Rich Paul as Brad’s father, and Antonio Jones II as young Brad.
Incarnation opened on Friday, February 18th with a limited theatrical release. It was also simultaneously made available on streaming services.
Reviews of Incarnation Movie 2022
Incarnation seems to have used up its budget on three things: the huge showroom house location, exterior flyover shots of said house, and Michael Madsen. This, unfortunately, did not leave much room for anything else.
Featuring performances that could charitably be termed workmanlike, a bizarre and incoherent plot, and every hoary horror-movie cliché imaginable, Incarnation is very much one for genre completionists. The title seems to make little sense given the premise – the movie revolves around an attempt to use an invocation – and it’s sometimes difficult to make heads or tails of the characters’ motivations.
That said, Incarnation (2022) has a few strings to its bow. The cinematography is, at times, inspired, making inventive use of the interior of the house, and Michael Madsen brings the gruff, laid-back cool that is his trademark. And though Taye Diggs could never be accused of Oscar-baiting, his meltdown when confronting Uberuaga’s Jess about her secret IVF sessions is nothing short of passionate.
Incarnation is not going to win any awards, but it is not entirely without merit – and Madsen fans can not be thrilled by watching him at work. You can catch it on streaming services such as Amazon Prime now.
Conclusion
On the bright side, the actors did an exceptional job in portraying their roles. The eerie charm of the landlord has to be noted as well. Overall, Incarnation is an enjoyable watch for a low-budget horror film.
