William Shatner Movie:

		List Price: $9.98		Label: Miracle Pictures Salesrank: 79970 Released: February 2, 2002
		Our Price: $4.54
		Used Price: $2.09
		MPAA Rating: Media: DVD

Incubus Reviews:
Great Cult Classic
2009-08-21 - I'll admit the movie is a bit boring and very strange. Having said that it is fun to watch because it is so wierd. The great thing is the Esperanto that they speak in through the entire movie. Plus its great fun to watch William Shatner. If you love either Esperanto or the shat or love odd B movie horror flicks than this movie is for you.

La Unusola Filmo Usona Iam Farita Tute en Esperante
2009-07-18 - For many years, 1965's legendary horror opus INCUBUS was thought to be a lost film. Some years after its production, the original negatives and prints were carelessly discarded or destroyed by the film lab entrusted with their preservation, and knowing of no other extant copies, the filmmakers resigned themselves to the idea that their award-winning work was forever gone. But in the mid-1990s, INCUBUS producer Anthony Taylor learned that the Cinémathèque Française in Paris had discovered a copy of the film in their archives. He subsequently negotiated to have a high-quality copy made, and from this a digital master was created. And now, after missing for more than 3 decades, INCUBUS is again available to eager genre fans.

INCUBUS is set in Nomen Tuum, a village on an idyllic island that also happens to be the hunting grounds of two succubae (beautiful female demons that seduce human males and lead them to ruin). One of these demons, Kia (Allyson Ames), has lured countless IMMORAL men to their ultimate doom, but she is growing bored with beleaguering those who are already marked for damnation. She yearns instead for the challenge of seducing and corrupting a man of noble character. However, her mentor, Amael (Eloise Hardt), warns that toying with saints is a dangerous game, as they wield a strange power that can corrupt even a demon's heart--a power called LOVE. Rejecting this advice, Kia sets her sights on Marc (William Shatner), a respectable young war hero who lives with his sister, Arndis (Ann Atmar).

In the guise of a weary traveler, Kia accosts Marc, and he is immediately attracted to her. She feigns mutual interest, of course, and when Marc kisses her, she tempts him with the suggestion that they make love. But being of good character, Marc insists that they first do the "right thing" and marry. Such principled moral restraint intrigues Kia, and she begins to fall in love with Marc.

Outraged by Marc's "corrupting" influence, Kia's mentor, Amael, summons the titular incubus (the male counterpart to the succubus) and sends him out to avenge Kia by defiling Marc's sister. But as Kia's love grows, Marc wins her over completely, and this turn of events only further enrages the incubus and thereby places both Marc AND Kia in peril.

INCUBUS is an excellent horror film that belies its meager budget. Neither sensationalist nor exploitative, the simple tale of good-versus-evil is accessible to an audience of almost any age or nationality, yet it is not a shallow or boring film. Indeed, the excellent acting, the beautifully aesthetic cinematography, and the eerie religious symbolism and psychological subtext keep the viewer continually engaged as the narrative unfolds. And even after 40 years, the film does not seem the least bit dated. Natural settings, rural architecture, and simple wardrobes give the film a timeless, fairytale-like quality.

INCUBUS is often cited as a mere curiosity because it is the only film to date in which the characters speak solely in the artificial language of Esperanto. (Created in 1887 by Ludovic Zamenhof, Esperanto is based on the common elements of the European romance languages, which are themselves rooted in Latin. A relatively easy-to-learn language, Zamenhof naively hoped that Esperanto would become a universal tongue that would promote world peace.) Limiting the film's significance to this one characteristic, though, is both inaccurate and unjust. It can easily be argued that, along with its contemporaries like CARNIVAL OF SOULS and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, INCUBUS is one of the watershed horror films of the 1960s that greatly influenced the evolution of the genre. Although containing a certain level of creepy imagery, these films contain relatively little blatant gore. Instead, the primary horror element of each is an eerie ambiance created via symbolism; atmospherics such as lightning, thunder, and fog; copious nighttime photography; unusual lighting and camera angles; odd musical scores; and the use black-and-white film. And rather than being a mere curiosity, the use of subtitled Esperanto-only dialogue in INCUBUS is an additional aesthetic masterstroke. It provides a certain foreign flavor that, regardless of the nationality of the audience, contributes to the film's ethereal atmosphere by making it seem as if all takes place in an unfamiliar or alien realm.

INCUBUS was the brainchild of Leslie Stevens, a producer, writer, and director for the classic 1960s sci-fi TV series THE OUTER LIMITS. Leslie wrote and directed INCUBUS himself, and he assigned the primary camera duties to another OUTER LIMITS alumnus, future-award-winning cinematographer Conrad Hall. The influence of the TV show is recognizable in several elements of the film, the most obvious being the theme-music pastiche. Surprisingly, this musical style works even better in INCUBUS than it did on TV, as the bizarre sound of the theremin on which it is played sharpens the otherworldly quality of the film.

Overall, INCUBUS deserves its legendary status. It's a must-see for any serious fan of the horror genre or for fans of STAR TREK's William Shatner, and with DVD technology, such fans now have the opportunity to own a copy of a great film that was once thought to be forever lost to the dust of history.

NOTE: For serious film collectors, the authorized (by the film's producer, Anthony Taylor) DVD from Winstar (click Incubus for amazon's product page) is probably a better option than the DVD offered here. The Winstar edition offers a restored version of the film, two audio commentaries--one with star William Shatner; one with producer Anthony Taylor and cinematographers Conrad L. Hall and William Fraker--and other interesting bonus material.

Come and rest, you must be tired.....
2008-04-30 - From the producers of the original "Outer Limits" TV series, came this strange, airy, otherworldly horror film. While Leslie Stevens helmed the production of the TV series, and Joseph Stefano (Psycho) basically ran the productions, the series was abruptly (and decidedly unwisely) cancelled, but Leslie took to the Director's Chair for this one. He insisted that Esperanto (a mish-mash of several languages, combined into a cohesive whole, that was once put forth as an "International Language") be spoken, and it lends to the eerie goings on. Both he and Stefano chose Big Sur, California as the site of filming, and the locales chosen were, likewise, perfect for the film's "feel". The film boasts a very small cast, essentially made up of unknowns, with the exception of William Shatner, Who was to gain fame some years AFTER this film, by becoming Captain James T. Kirk, of "Star Trek" fame.

The rest of the cast did well, with maybe the one exception, being Eloise Hardt. I apologise to Eloise for this, but her command of Esperanto was seriously flawed, like trying to speak spanish with a New England accent. It just doesn't work. Allyson Ames (who, herself was once Leslie Steven's wife, and was cast in a few of the series' episodes) plays a novice Succubus. Ann Atmar (who would regretfully take her own life, a few years after "Incubus" was made) plays Shatner's sister, and Milos Milos (who could forget that name) plays the title role.

While the plot is a simple one, "Good Vs. Evil", the performances should be taken in the context of the 1960's. Much has changed, in the way of "modern" acting, and if this film is judged by it's modern contemporaries, it is woefully lacking. If taken by the time of it's production, however, it works, and works well! There is Religious allegory in the film, but it has no identity, other than a cross shown in an old "Spanish style" mission. The photography was helmed by Conrad "Connie" Hall, who is noted for his work on films like "In Cold Blood", "Cool Hand Luke" and he won an Academy Award for his work on "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid". The visuals, though black and white, are stunning! There is a scene where Shatner is walking across a field of grass, and it's how the grass moves, in black and white, that makes the scene stand out! I doubt the same effect could have been repeated, were it in color! There are scenes such as this, all through the film! The music was arranged by Dominic Frontiere, who did all the soundtracks to all of the series' episodes. So if you are a fan of the "Outer Limits", you will recognize the music, as "Incubus" possesses just about all of the music done for the series! Strangely, it works! The subtitles in this film are the one serious flaw, in an otherwise excellent film. They are superimposed on a black background, closed caption style, and obscure what is on the lower third of the screen. It is disconcerting to some degree, as you cannot see the faces of the actors in some shots.

The film is not without some comedic element, though. In a scene where Shatner and Ames are crossing a shallow stream, Shatner trips and falls, face first in the water! Like true troupers, though, they both adlib lines, that I'm positive, were NOT in the script! In Esperanto, even!

While the DVD has no extras, if you happen to be a fan of the old "Outer Limits" series, as I am, this will make a fine capper to that series, as both Stevens and Stefano wanted to do a new series based in Gothic Horror, that ABC execs at the time, were not keen to do (this should come as no great surprise, as TV execs were as stupid then, as they are today). So if you are looking for a great little Goth/Horror film for that boring evening, try "Incubus". It's a good one!

The "Hope Diamond" of Lost Films and Bonefide Masterpiece
2007-09-30 - Manipulating shadows and tonality is like writing music or a poem.
- Conrad Hall

Conrad Hall, who shot this film (cinematographer, not director), was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won three before his death in 2003. He won Oscars for his work on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, American Beauty, and Road to Perdition and is one of the masters of the art (obviously). I've seen many of the films he lensed but to me, nothing - absolutely nothing, compares to his stunning black and white work in the long lost low-budget horror film, Incubus, from the mid-60's.

Hall got his start in the classic original Outer Limits TV series in the early 60's. After the show was canceled, Hall, along with many others from the talented crew from The Outer Limits followed its creator, Leslie Stevens, to his next project, Incubus, a low-budget horror film he scripted with dialog entirely in Esperanto. Esperanto was intended as a "universal second language" developed in the 1800's. Accentuating the beauty of the poetic script, and astounding imagery, is the eerie and perfectly-fitting score by. Dominic Frontiere.

The script itself is spartan and beautifully written. This is not a "talky" film and the dialog sounds more like poetry. The story has a mythological nature to it, like some Greek fable about star crossed lovers. As Shatner points out in his commentary - despite its poetic qualities, it really is a take on the common "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back" structure and is a "dark" (like "pitch-black" dark) love story. The beautiful succubus, Kia, is unfulfilled in her "job" luring men with her beauty, only to kill them and sacrifice their souls to the Lord of Darkness. Such men will "find their way to the sewers of Hell without her". She wants to sacrifice a virtuous man. She is warned by her elder, Amae, not to do this as virtuous men posses a power greater than their own. Not heeding this warning, Kia meets Marc (Shatner) in the woods where he lives alone in a cabin with his sister, Arndis. Marc falls under Kia's spell, and after Marc and Kia "fade to black" Kia remains unconscious. Marc carries her to a church, and when Kia awakens there is traumatized by the religious items and that she's (gasp)a succubus in a church. She fights like an animal to be released from Marc's grasp, and succeeds by scratching his face, then flees into the woods. The traumatized Kia is met by her elder, Amae, where they agree to resurrect the Incubus - a demon, to exact their vengence on Marc for defiling her by having the Incubus rape his sister and feed her soul to "The Lord of Darkness".

Nothing - no scene, in this film lapses into campiness. The scenes of Satanic ritual are not hokey and corny as we come to expect in these types of films. They are executed with a powerful authenticity. Once of the best sequences in the film is the "transformation" sequence at the end of the film where the Incubus goes from his human form to his demonic form. This is done with a simple and effective "jump-cut", sound, flash cuts, and clever editing. No unconvincing and cliched "disolves". It is elegantly, brilliantly, executed and very, very realistic and effective. I would defy any modern digital "morphing" effect to match the effectiveness of this scene executed with a simple "jarring" jump-cut.

Incubus is not a "curio", not a dated hack horror flick, forget about "William Shatner" jokes (he's perfectly cast in this), and it's certainly not one of those "so bad it's good" camp-fests. Incubus is an eerie and effective horror that's unforgettable. It grabs you by the lapels from its brilliant title sequence, and doesn't let go for a second until its poignant conclusion. It's truly a forgotten film treasure. I'll go out on a limb and - to me- declare it a masterpiece created by the inspired labor of love by some of the very best filmmakers of its era.



BEST ESPERANTO MOVIE....EVER
2005-11-09 - Turn the sound off and do your own speaking parts and soundtrack.

It looks great- visually appealing.

I do love Esperanto, but the 8 different Esperanto accents are a bit confused. But heck, I like it. I am over the age of 13. Thank you.