Incubus (1965)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Leslie Stevens

Writer:

Leslie Stevens (writer)

Release Date:

November 1966 (France)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

On a strange island inhabited by demons and spirits, a man battles the forces of evil.

Plot Keywords:

Incubus | Succubus | Demon | Nudity | Drowning

Cast

William Shatner	...	Marc
Allyson Ames	...	Kia
Eloise Hardt	...	Amael
Robert Fortier	...	Olin
Ann Atmar	...	Arndis
Milos Milos	...	Incubus

Runtime:

78 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Esperanto

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Company:

Contempo III Productions

Trivia:

Just one year after this film came out, as its prints were being destroyed, William Shatner was cast in "Star Trek" (1966), cinematographer Conrad L. Hall got his first Academy Award nomination, actor Milos Milos murdered the estranged wife of Mickey Rooney and then killed himself, and actress Ann Atmar committed suicide.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the long fight between Kia and the goat, the shadow of the camera is clearly visible several different times.

Quotes:

Marc: I see the heart of darkness... the universe unfolding... taking my breath, my blood, my life... down below, below, below...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Blade: Trinity (2004)

An obscure oddity well worth seeking out

Made by some of the same folks who worked on the great Outer Limits television series, this little-known gem (shot entirely in Esperanto, a failed language conceived to become a universal dialect many years ago) is definitely one-of-a-kind and worth checking out. William Shatner stars as war vet and all-around good and decent guy who lives with his sister (some Freudian implications are present) in a nameless and nearly-vacant coastal village. He is briefly led astray by a seductive, blonde devil-worshipper (Allyson Ames) under false pretenses...he thinks it's for the mutual attraction and she is basically plotting to kill him and deliver another soul over to Satan.

The remastering job is a crystal clear b/w print, gorgeously shot by Conrad L. Hall (AMERICAN BEAUTY) around picturesque Big Sur locations. Director Leslie Stevens achieves some amazing shots, throws in some great camera-work and the films has faint echoes of CARNIVAL OF SOULS and many Mario Bava films. The plotting (Shatner falling in love in the course of an afternoon and some heavy-handed religious themes) is often at odds with the is lyrical and poetic tone of the film, but it has many standout sequences (including a winged demon seen only in shadow, a solar eclipse, the human "incubus" rising from the grave, an opening murder of the succubus drowning a drunken man in the ocean...) to recommend it.