Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Incubus. Before we get into it, here are my ratings:
Story - 1.25 Direction - 1.25 Pace - 1.00 Acting - 1.00 Enjoyment - 1.25
TOTAL - 5.75
For some bizarre reason, my intuition warned me away from watching The Incubus. I have no idea why, because I have watched better and worse movies than this. Anyway, I decided to take the bull by the horn - that is a terrible analogy considering the storyline - and settled down in front of the gogglebox.
The story is considerably well structured and thought out. However, the writers did a terrible job with the dialogue and some of the characters' mannerisms. Though, this could also be down to the cast or the director. Most of the awful conversations come from the Sam and Laura characters. Sam likes to call the only surviving rape victim "tough guy", usually while forceable twisting her head around. His actions and tone don't come off as a good doctor/patient bedside manner. And Laura's interlocution is disjointed and staid, to say the least. But this could be the actor and actress's delivery or how the director wanted them to convey their lines. Regardless of the reason, I would say that both John Cassevettes and the beautiful Kerrie Keane are not on their best form as the leads in this flick.
Luckily, the rest of the cast is much better, especially Helen Hughes as Agatha Galen. She plays the last in a line of Witch Hunters, and I wouldn't give her any lip. She's perfect in the role and lifts the film when her scenes come around.
As for the direction. Ignoring the terrible dialogue, it's pretty decent. It would have been nice to have more tension, particularly around the attacks. It would have built up the audience to be freaked out by the attacks. The assaults are not exploitation, and for that, I am thankful. And though the FX boys through the claret around, there's not much gore. That doesn't mean some moments won't turn your stomach. In one autopsy, the director gives you an upward shot of the table with one of the cadaver's legs in view. Dr Cordell is holding a large syringe filled with blood, which he empties into a jar. You know exactly where that syringe has been, and that knowledge makes the entire process grosser. But it gets worse when we learn later in the film that it wasn't blood in the jar but red sperm. Urgh!
So the film isn't great, but it does waste an hour and a half...and there's a bonus if you're Metal-Head like me. Bruce Dickinson and his old band Samson make a guest appearance singing Vice Versa. Not a bad tune, and it's on Spotify. Talk about lucky breaks; the other band in the film have to make do with being on the soundtrack only. Evidently, Bruce and the boys were pretty enough to make it to celluloid.
But if you're not into rock, then the story makes the movie worth watching, at least once.
Feel free to come and visit my Absolute Horror list to see where The Incubus ranks in my charts.
Take Care & Stay Well.
Story - 1.25 Direction - 1.25 Pace - 1.00 Acting - 1.00 Enjoyment - 1.25
TOTAL - 5.75
For some bizarre reason, my intuition warned me away from watching The Incubus. I have no idea why, because I have watched better and worse movies than this. Anyway, I decided to take the bull by the horn - that is a terrible analogy considering the storyline - and settled down in front of the gogglebox.
The story is considerably well structured and thought out. However, the writers did a terrible job with the dialogue and some of the characters' mannerisms. Though, this could also be down to the cast or the director. Most of the awful conversations come from the Sam and Laura characters. Sam likes to call the only surviving rape victim "tough guy", usually while forceable twisting her head around. His actions and tone don't come off as a good doctor/patient bedside manner. And Laura's interlocution is disjointed and staid, to say the least. But this could be the actor and actress's delivery or how the director wanted them to convey their lines. Regardless of the reason, I would say that both John Cassevettes and the beautiful Kerrie Keane are not on their best form as the leads in this flick.
Luckily, the rest of the cast is much better, especially Helen Hughes as Agatha Galen. She plays the last in a line of Witch Hunters, and I wouldn't give her any lip. She's perfect in the role and lifts the film when her scenes come around.
As for the direction. Ignoring the terrible dialogue, it's pretty decent. It would have been nice to have more tension, particularly around the attacks. It would have built up the audience to be freaked out by the attacks. The assaults are not exploitation, and for that, I am thankful. And though the FX boys through the claret around, there's not much gore. That doesn't mean some moments won't turn your stomach. In one autopsy, the director gives you an upward shot of the table with one of the cadaver's legs in view. Dr Cordell is holding a large syringe filled with blood, which he empties into a jar. You know exactly where that syringe has been, and that knowledge makes the entire process grosser. But it gets worse when we learn later in the film that it wasn't blood in the jar but red sperm. Urgh!
So the film isn't great, but it does waste an hour and a half...and there's a bonus if you're Metal-Head like me. Bruce Dickinson and his old band Samson make a guest appearance singing Vice Versa. Not a bad tune, and it's on Spotify. Talk about lucky breaks; the other band in the film have to make do with being on the soundtrack only. Evidently, Bruce and the boys were pretty enough to make it to celluloid.
But if you're not into rock, then the story makes the movie worth watching, at least once.
Feel free to come and visit my Absolute Horror list to see where The Incubus ranks in my charts.
Take Care & Stay Well.