Incubus (1966) – Film Review

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Incubus (1967) – Film Review

Director: Leslie Stevens
Cast: William Shatner, Allyson Ames, Eloise Hardt
Certificate: 15

By Sarah Morgan

Fancy watching a pre-Star Trek William Shatner in a movie made entirely in Esperanto? Well, that might not sound like a must-see, but Incubus is extraordinary.

Esperanto is, of course, a constructed language, and director Leslie Stevens, creator of spooky TV series The Outer Limits, felt it would give his low-budget horror movie an otherworldly edge. Whether he was right or not is up for debate.

In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock used some of the crew of his series Alfred Hitchcock Presents to make the low-budget black and white smash-hit Psycho, and Stevens adopted the same approach with Incubus, employing the likes of future Oscar-winning cinematographer Conrad L Hall and composer Dominic Frontiere, who’d cut their teeth on The Outer Limits. Sadly, Incubus didn’t make anywhere near as much of an impact at the box office as Hitch’s classic.

“Terrifying chain of events”

In fact, it was believed to have been lost for 30 years, until a print was located in France in 1996. And thank goodness it was, because it’s something of a gem.

At the story’s centre is a group of succubi that entices unwary souls to their deaths, offering them as sacrifices to the God of Darkness.

One of the female demons, Kia, states she’s tired of tempting ne’er-do-wells and wants to challenge herself by chasing down someone more worthy. Despite warnings from her sister, Kia sets her sights on Marc, a former soldier; his love for her sets in motion a terrifying chain of events.

Originally released in 1966, Incubus provides a link between the Gothic horrors of Hammer Films and Roger Corman’s Poe cycle to later chillers such as Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen. The use of Esperanto, I felt, was a little jarring, but not too off-putting – if you can deal with subtitles on foreign films, you can certainly cope with this.

“Curiosity piece”

Shatner is fine as the hero, with Stevens’ then-wife Alyson Ames as Kia. The most intriguing piece of casting – and one that some suspect may have worked against the film on its release – was that of Milos Milos, a stunt man and bodyguard who plays an evil force here. He gained notoriety via a murder-suicide case involving Mickey Rooney’s estranged fifth wife, Barbara Ann Thomason, with whom he’d been having an affair.

Incubus is a curiosity piece and no mistake. Esperanto speakers may, apparently, find some of the pronunciations not to their liking (audiences in 1966 are said to have laughed at it), but Stevens created an atmospheric work that deserves a wider audience.

Shatner fans will surely be interested to hear his audio commentary, which is among the special features. An interview with horror expert Stephen Bissette, and another featuring some of the crew are must-sees.

Performances6
Direction8
Screenplay7
Cinematography9
Originality8
Extras8

4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:

  • 4K restoration from the last surviving 35mm print by Le Chat Qui Fume
  • 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
  • Original lossless Esperanto mono audio
  • Optional English subtitles
  • Optional Esperanto subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
  • New audio commentary by writer and genre historian David J. Schow, author of The Outer Limits: The Official Companion
  • Archive audio commentary by star William Shatner
  • Archive audio commentary by producer Anthony Taylor, cinematographer Conrad L. Hall and camera operator William Fraker
  • Alternate 1.37:1 presentation of the film (1080p only)
  • Words and Worlds: Incubus and Esperanto in Cinema, a newly filmed interview with genre historian Stephen Bissette
  • Internacia Lingvo: A History of Esperanto, a newly filmed interview with Esther Schor, author of Bridge of Words: Esperanto and the Dream of a Universal Language
  • An Interview with the Makers of Incubus, an archive interview by Schow with Taylor, Hall and Fraker
  • Video trailer
  • Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Richard Wells
  • Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Frank Collins and Jason Kruppa

Incubus is released on Limited Edition 4K UHD by Arrow

7.7
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