INCUBUS
(1965)Director: Leslie Stevens
Winstar/Fox Lorber Films
INCUBUS
(1965)Writer/Director Leslie Stevens, best known as the man behind the TV series "The Outer Limits," decided he wanted to make a film entirely in Esperanto, a language created in 1887 to facilitate easy communication between people of different cultures. As fate would have it, the first and only movie made entirely in the language is a horror film thought lost for over 30 years. Producer Anthony Taylor was determined to introduce the film to a new audience, and one surviving print was found in France, where INCUBUS seems to be as hot a property as Jerry Lewis. Using that one print, a major restoration took place, granting us another remarkable special edition DVD.
The plot of INCUBUS introduces us to blond succubus Kia (Allyson Ames) who seduces mortal men and leads them to their deaths. She kills a hapless drunk on the beach by stepping on his head and drowning him. She next has sights on Marc (William Shatner), a young, humble soldier who lives modestly with his sister Arndis (Ann Atmar). Kia know wants to prey on a pure soul for a change, despite the objection of her older sister Amael (Eloise Hardt), who thinks he's too much for her to handle.
Marc and Kia effortlessly fall for each other, but Amael soon convinces her that she's been violated by pure love, since Mark took her to a holy chapel for comfort. The two temptresses summon an incubus from the earth (played by Milos Milos), who violates and kills Marc's sister. Marc battles the incubus, while Kia tries hard to resist the dark side and protect the righteous man who she obviously loves.
INCUBUS is a strange, haunting tale of good vs. evil, with stunningly moody black & white photography by future Oscar winner Conrad Hall. The film was shot at Big Sur on the central California coast, and the beaches and woods there make for some incredibly surreal visuals. Director Stevens set out to create something that looked foreign, and he succeeds at that. With the actors speaking the unfamiliar language (reportedly, their pronunciation wasn't the best), and the Bergman-esque imagery, the film really looks like an import, with shades of HORROR HOTEL and NIGHT TIDE thrown in as well. Shatner is good in his last pre-"Star Trek" movie role, but seeing him articulating in strange tongue is sometimes like witnessing Captain Kirk in a cross-cultural time warp.
Keeping in mind that a frequently played print was the single source for the transfer, the restoration job (backed by the Sci-Fi Channel!) is excellent. The full frame black & white image is very crisp with deep blacks, and there's only minor blemishes now and again. The sound has also been enhanced, and is terrific for a 35 year-old flick. Since the surviving print has French subtitles, English titles are blocked over them. They are awkwardly placed and can be a bit obtrusive (the French-subtitled version is also included).
As a supplement, there are not one, but two commentaries. One is with producer Taylor, cinematographer Hall, and camera operator William Fraker, which is orchestrated by author David J. Schow. William Shatner was not able to partake in this due to a film project, so his recollections were recorded and spread out on a third track. There's a lot of talk about a "curse" that the film has on it, due to a number of unlucky circumstances on some of the participants (including the suicides of two of the actors--Atmar and Milos, the latter who did himself in after killing Mickey Rooney's estranged wife). Shatner even goes on about how a mistreated hippie put a hex on the production!
Schow also conducts a videotaped introduction/interview with Taylor, Hall and Fraker. There are also filmographies, some notes about the alleged "curse," and a new ludicrous bogus trailer that that compares the film to "Blair Witch," and emphasizes the camp value of Shatner's presence, a contradictory summary of the film's somber attitude. (George R. Reis)