Incubus (1966) User Reviews

If for no other reason....

[DannyNoonan68 · 6/10 · 9 June 2007]

A very weird, quietly creepy horror film... I think a big chunk of the weirdness and creepiness goes down to the fact that the film is entirely in Esperanto (and also the bit with the goat).

Put together by Outer Limits staffers (who were apparently obsessed with artificial languages), the production values are not dissimilar to 50s/60s TV (the odd camera shadow, out of focus evil beings, etc), but the effects are strangely effective and the use of sound is genuinely creepy in a way that made me think of "Eraserhead".

This film is worth seeing if for no other reason than to see William Shatner overacting in Esperanto. Most of the film he keeps the overacting in check, but about an hour in he clearly can't help himself.

An interesting experiment....but I am glad Esperanto never took off as a language!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 5 March 2009]

The concept for this full-length film as well as its genesis are truly weird. The guiding force behind the television show "The Outer Limits" (Leslie Stevens) decides to produce the first (and probably only) full-length American-made Esperanto film--with a plot that is strongly influenced by his TV show as well as Ingmar Bergman's THE SEVENTH SEAL! Talk about strange! Yet, oddly, the experiment works, though in hindsight I am glad the idea never really took off and resulted in further films in this so-called "international language".

The film begins with a Satan worshiping siren who has delighted in luring people to their deaths. However, apparently this is getting rather old and this lady confides to an older Devil-loving lady that she wonders what it's all about, why they only take the souls of evil ones and why the Lord of Darkness, if he's so powerful, needs their help anyway! And, in fact, she'd like to try battling against a righteous soul instead of the typical damned ones! Well, the older lady will have none of that and counsels her to do her job and get such foolish ideas out of her head. But, given that the younger lady is apparently quite stupid, she sets out to seduce a "nice guy"--who turns out to be a young William Shatner. The problem is that once the evil incubus (a soul-stealing demon) is summoned to take Shatner, the siren has fallen in love with him and is torn between her duty and doing what is right.

While all this probably sounds a bit silly to someone who has never seen the film, it somehow works--mostly due to the efforts of Stevens. An old score from one of the "Outer Limits" shows is recycled and sounds very, very eerie--fitting the action quite well. In addition, the black and white cinematography is lovely as well as the odd yet appropriate camera angles. These work together to make the film seem other-worldly--like it occurs perhaps on another world or in another time.

As for the actors, they did a pretty good job and I was amazed at their speaking this odd language. In particular, it was a bit jarring to see Shatner both speak the language AND actually do a competent job acting. In some shows and movies, he has a tendency to way over-act--and especially to over-emote. Here, however, he seems quite capable as the nice guy who cannot allow himself to give in to temptation. Sadly, however, according to IMDb and interviews with surviving film crew, two of the main actors would be dead within a year of the completion of the film--one due to suicide and another to a murder/suicide! As they said, the film had the "curse of the incubus" on it!

While I am sure this film would not interest most people due to its artsy style, it is entertaining and worth seeing if you are a patient person. Spooky, strange and amazingly successful for a project that reportedly cost less than $100,000 to produce. And, of all the many, many Esperanto films out there, this one is surely the best!

Ingmar Bergman Meets `The Outer Limits'

[genekim · 20 June 2003]

It's tempting to jokingly call this the best William Shatner movie in Esperanto I've ever seen, but it deserves better than that - it's a delightfully weird low-budget horror film that might best be described as "Ingmar Bergman Meets `The Outer Limits.'" The reference to the 60s TV series is apt, since several of the creative forces from that show were behind this film: writer-director Leslie Stevens; future Oscar-winning cinematographer Conrad L. Hall, and composer Dominic Frontiere (although I suspect they simply borrowed his "Outer Limits" themes to score this film). In fact, "Incubus" looks, sounds and feels so much like an episode of the "The Outer Limits," there were times I half-expected it to fade to commercial; a flash of nudity reminds us this isn't a TV show.

In "Incubus," a seductive female demon - a succubus - named Kia becomes bored with luring morally corrupt men to their eternal doom and sets her sights on a virtuous soldier named Marc, played by a pre-"Star Trek" Shatner (who guest-starred in an "Outer Limits" episode titled "Cold Hands, Warm Heart"). The bucolic out-of-time setting reminds me of the medieval Sweden of Bergman's "The Seventh Seal," and Hall's black & white cinematography is starkly beautiful. The Esperanto dialogue lends an exotic flavor with its vaguely recognizable European word roots. It also dresses up dialogue that might have been too over-the-top in English (in his DVD commentary, Shatner can't help chuckling when Kia declares, "There are no heroes burning in the fires of Hell!"). I'm reminded of the old joke that a movie seems more "artistic" if it's in a foreign language with subtitles - I guess Esperanto, originally intended to be a universal language, effectively makes "Incubus" a "foreign film" to just about everyone.

Shatner, as the young, handsome, dashing hero, is unmistakably Shatner, even in Esperanto. Allyson Ames is frostily beautiful as the evil Kia, while Ann Atmar is sweetly vulnerable as Marc's sister, Arndis.

I don't mean to over-praise "Incubus." It's a very well done little film, comparable to the original "Carnival of Souls" - if you don't expect too much, you may be pleasantly surprised at how much there is. It's definitely worth a look.

Very strange and weird film about demonic forces and played in Esperanto language

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 16 April 2021]

On a rare island inhabits two brothers, Marc : William Shatner and Arndis : Hardt along with spirits and demons , then the man battles the dark forces with unexpected results .Then Kia : discovers the incorruptible young Marc and falls big time. But her Succubus doesn't like what's going on and cast a spell that calls an incubus to wreak havoc . At the end, Marc meets the incubus , a terrifying , supernatural demon who enjoys killing humans .

A demon flick with sinister scenes in which a brave hero fights the forces of evil ,containing weird happenings , a twisted love story and a surprising final . One of the very few movies made in artificial language of Esperanto , so it is subtitled in English. Creepily atmospheric , including eerie frames , rare events and amazing conclusion . This film has a sad history , being destroyed all prints , but eventually one copy was discovered by the French Cinematheque in París. Furthermore , the usually unknown actors had short and unfortunate lives , as Milos Milos , who played Incubus , murdered Mickey Rooney's wife and after he committed suicide at 24 , Ann Atmar also committed suicide and Eloise Hardt had a daughter who was kidnapped and killed . While William Shatner who gives a decent acting was subsequently hired for his immortal role of Star Trek's Captain Kirk and Allyson Ames married four times , one of them to director Leslie Stevens.

The flick is made in very low budget, but its few money is make up for the enjoyable cinenatography in black and white by expert cameraman Conrad Hall (Road to perdition, American Beauty, Tequila Sunrise, Fat City) and uncredited William A Fraker . Adding a mysterious and really strange musical score by Dominic Frontiere (The Stunt Man, Contact , Chisum, Barquero , Number one). The motion picture was competently directed by Leslie Stevens , in spite of its short budget. He was a good writer/producer/director , as he wrote The Left handed gunman with Paul Newman and he produced and directed Hero's island with James Mason and Private Property with Warren Oates . He also wrote , directed and created for TV some notorious series The Outer Limits , It takes a thief, McCloud , The Invisible Man , among others .

Better than I expected

[Wiebke · 7/10 · 22 June 2000]

This movie was a lot better than I expected. I thought it would only be a novelty, just a test to see if you could do a whole movie in Esperanto, but it was very well done for a low-budget movie. Good movie, William Shatner acting was way above his usual par, special effects were NOT cheezy. I would see this again.

Incubus

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 13 October 2023]

Created by ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, Esperanto is supposed to be a universal second language for international communication. In English, the name means one who hopes and it's the largest constructed international auxiliary language with a few thousand speakers.

Zamenhof had some big dreams that go past making an easy and flexible language. He thought that this new way of speaking would lead to world peace.

Incubus is the second film to be made in the language, following Angoroj. This was directed and written by The Outer Limits creator Leslie Stevens, who used the cancellation of that show to make an art house movie with that show's cinematographer Conrad L. Hall and composer Dominic Frontiere.

This is the story of a spring in Nomen Tuum that heals the sick and makes ugly people ravishing and oh yes, there are many succubus and incubus there to lure humans to Hell.

Kia (Allyson Ames) wants a pure man to be her perfect target, but her sister Amael (Eloise Hardt) tries to tell her that if she falls in love, she will lose so much. Then she goes after Marc (Shatner), a soldier here to heal his wounds of battle. He's with his sister Arndis (Ann Atmar) who is so dumb that she loses her sight by staring at the sun.

This gets wild, as Marc's purity defiles the demons, who call upon an incubus (Milos Milos, whose life is insane; he was the bodyguard for Alain Delon and a friend of Stevan Markovic, who died owning sexually explicit photos of Claude Pompidou, wife of French President Georges Pompidou, causing a big scandal and an unsolved crime; Milos went to America where he married Cynthia Bouron, who had a paternity case against Cary Grant, and was beaten to death and found in the trunk of her car outside a grocery store. As for Milos Milos, he was dating Barbara Ann Thomason, the wife of Mickey Rooney, at the same time he was married to Cynthia Bouron, and they died in a murder suicide that many believed that Rooney engineered) to kill Marc and defile and murder his sister.

This was thought to be a lost film, shown only at the San Francisco Film Festival - where Esperanto speakers laughed at how bad the actors spoke - and in France. Between the language and the scandal over Milo killing his girlfriend and himself, the movie was kind of dead. It was found in 2001 when it was reassembled from existing materials.

love wins over evil

[jcholguin · 5/10 · 5 June 2002]

William Shatner's name was enough for me to view this film, and I was not disappointed. The first 5 minutes or so I almost stopped viewing because it was a low budget film, but I wanted to see just the Shatner was going to do in this movie. He played Marc, a soldier that is recovering from a wound and is living with his beloved sister. Kia is the evil woman that leads men to their death, but all of these men were evil in the first place and were easy to trick to their death. Kia wants a real challenge, a man that is good in which she can put all her tricks to use, a battle of good vs evil. Marc is a hero because he faced death for the good of his men. Kia meets Marc and decides that he will be the one in this battle. Kia doesn't know the power of love, and gradually falls in love with Marc. He is totally in love with her and cannot see the evil of the incubus or of kia's mentor, an older woman who is totally evil. The sister is killed because of the blindness of Marc's love. The climax of the film ends with Kia's evil nature submitting to the good of love, but the ultimate price of the battle falls upon both Marc and Kia. A film worth watching.

Fascinating, unique, underappreciated

[rch427 · 8/10 · 29 January 2001]

Writer/Director Leslie Stevens was previously best-known as the man behind the TV series "The Outer Limits", and it shows. Everything about this film is moody, atmospheric and vaguely threatening, while still tinged with beauty. The real surprise is that "Incubus" is much better than just an extended Outer Limits.

Shot in Big Sur on the central California coast in just two weeks and under a very small budget, the film more than makes up for those limitations with an imaginative script, fantastic visuals and well-nuanced acting. William Shatner gives what I consider to be the most subtle, unmannered performance of his career as the protagonist -- a weary, wounded soldier. The succubus who aims to cause his downfall is more than ably portrayed by Allyson Ames, who would've been quite at home in any Bergman film.

Bergman is, in fact, a reference point, with a few scenes obviously inspired by "Persona", "The Seventh Seal" and perhaps "Wild Strawberries". Other influences seem to be some of Kurosawa's early work and even Greek tragedies.

Many people consider the fact that every bit of dialogue (and even the credits) were in the Esperanto language, to be merely a gimmick. In fact, it was an inspired decision, and makes the film independent of time and place; perfectly complimenting the otherworldly mood. Most of the actors do quite well with it, and after a few minutes it sounds natural, and a bit like a cross between Swedish and Latin.

There are a few niggling problems: the actress who portrays the older succubus has a terrible declaimatory style, there are occasionally irrational plot turns, and worse -- the obtrusive subtitles that block out a large swath of the screen. This was necessitated by the fact that only one print of the film survived, and it had had French subtitles printed on it. When the print was rediscovered, director Stevens had to restore it for English-speaking audiences by blocking English subtitles over the top of the French!

I must mention the score, by Outer Limits composer Dominic Frontiere, which perfectly compliments the film. Conrad Hall's cinematography is at times breathtaking -- especially in one scene where Shatner wanders through a field by moonlight, the grasses swirling around him.

The film's denouement stays just on the better side of moralizing and manages to avoid heavy-handed Christian references. Indeed, the statues of Jesus, Mary and various saints in the village chapel seem just as threatening as the demons outside.

Although not quite as morally ambiguous as "The Wicker Man" (and probably shot for 1/10 the budget and in 1/10th the time), Incubus nevertheless is one of my favorite "horror" films of the 1960s, and well worth viewing. By the way, I disagree with the other poster suggested that Incubus is best viewed in a large group. I suggest that the intimate scale of this film works best when watched alone on a rainy night. Prepare to be frightened, disturbed and surprised.

A macabre footnote: within a year, both the actress who portrayed Shatner's sister and the actor who played the incubus would commit suicide.

Art house horror with a lot of imagination

[jordondave-28085 · 7/10 · 24 October 2023]

(1965) Incubus (Besides English the language that was also spoken is 'Esperanto' with English subtitles) HORROR/ THRILLER

Anybody familiar with the original black and white show called "The Outer Limits" should be able to like this film as well, who wrote and directed this film by the name of Leslie Steven! To describe it, is like delving into the Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" tradition by using strong winds and trees effectively used as part of it's atmosphere to carry this bizarre and gothic story, and perhaps Carl Dreyer. Their is language that is unbeknownst to most people but is used to bring effect to the overall film! A little film which is clocked in at 78 minutes. It opens with a man suffering from some kind of disease being led to his death by an attractive young blonde lady, she does this by placing her foot onto his head and drowns him as a result of following her to a beach. After she buries him, another blonde lady is seen with some worshipers wearing robes following behind her. As it turns out both ladies are sisters, with the one that led the contagious man to his death is Kia the younger one of the two. And are sacrificing supposedly bad men to their deaths as a part of a satanic ritual with Kia doing all the work. Their next opponent happens to be Marc (William Shatner) and although the older sister doesn't think it's a good idea for Kia to go after Marc for their ritual since his soul is pure and that she may begin to fall in love with him- Kia doesn't listen resulting to other measures such as to call Incubus(Milos Milos) from the grave.

William Shatner in a Bergman-esque tale of good and evil. Filmed entirely in Esperanto. And every bit as bad as that sounds.

[BA_Harrison · 2/10 · 2 December 2023]

Not long before landing his iconic role in Star Trek, William Shatner starred in this curious horror film, which was filmed entirely in the constructed international language of Esperanto, chosen by director Leslie Stevens to lend his film an eerie, otherworldly vibe. Shatner and his co-stars don't let the fact that they don't actually speak the language stop them and their performances are unsurprisingly awkward, with the Star Trek actor's delivery of his lines even more stilted than usual.

The films opens in the village of Nomen Tuum, location of The Deer Well, the water of which is rumoured to have healing properties; those who drink from the well are also supposed to acquire beauty, which attracts the vain and superficial. At a nearby beach, succubi lurk to lure these self-obsessed people to their death, sending their souls to Hell.

Succubus Kia (Allyson Ames) is fed up with preying on the corrupt and longs to claim a pure soul. She fixes her attention on courageous, heroic soldier Marc (Shatner), who, unaware of the woman's true nature, falls in love with her. When Marc carries the sleeping Kia to a church, she feels defiled and is convinced by another succubus to summon an incubus from Hell to take revenge...

A ponderous arthouse fable, Incubus is the kind of pretentious nonsense that I imagine might have had limited appeal with beatniks and hippies of the day, but which the average movie-goer would quite understandably have given a wide berth. It's no surprise to me that the film was considered lost for many years: I can't imagine many people cared too much.

Rediscovered in the mid '90s, Incubus has since achieved cult status, which is fair enough... it certainly is bizarre and unique. But the same can be said of many terrible films.

An obscure oddity well worth seeking out

[capkronos · 8/10 · 25 February 2004]

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 language conceived to become a universal dialect in the late 19th Century) 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.

Weird but Affecting

[derek-duerden · 7/10 · 16 September 2021]

Courtesy of the great "Dusty Video Box" I found a link to this, for which I am suitably grateful!

This is the kind of atmospheric horror film that would be great to discover during a late-night channel hopping session when you've pretty much decided it's time for bed - but this then keeps you up for another couple of hours.

Shatner is very good, as are the other main leads, and the plot, although simple and as timeless as any good-versus-evil archetype, is fine. It's the atmosphere and cinematography that linger though.

Nice discovery!

Self-infatuated, Bergmanesque horror movie spoken in Esperanto...

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 1 May 2010]

Esperanto, a nineteenth-century "all purpose"/international language, almost made a comeback with this stark, moody thriller--thought to be lost for many years until a surviving print resurfaced. Leslie Stevens wrote and directed this tale of a beautiful but soulless female demon, working for the God of Darkness, who tempts and lures men with tortured souls to their deaths in the ocean; tiring of her unchallenged routine, she sets out to destroy a pure, heroic man whose only defense is the power of love. Stevens seems to have overdosed on Ingmar Bergman movies, and is too enamored of Conrad Hall's artistic black-and-white cinematography to really get a grip on his narrative (certainly the editor could have cut back on the many shots of William Shatner wandering...wandering...). However, the ambiance of this film is startling and intriguing, Stevens writes some literate dialogue, and several of Hall's visual compositions are haunting. ** from ****

Didn't know this was in Esperanto when I rented it!

[scarletminded · 2 April 2004]

May contain spoilers.

This should be a must view, since it is the only film I know of that is in Esperanto. Other than the language, which gives the movie a dreamy quality, the acting is good and it reminds me of older horror films and Bergman, movies where the plot was conveyed through dialog and emotions with less action scenes.

The plot is about a female demon who is cursed by the love of a good man. It is a very interesting idea that evil could be hurt by kindness and it still rings true today and doesn't look dated. It is more watchable than a Bergman film too.

The DVD has a lot of extras like commentary and interviews, which make the film more fun. I love knowing how films were made and this one had to have a second script written so they could show it to the people they were renting the church from! Also, there are creepy stories about murder and suicide post shooting, which make it all the more horrific when you watch it again.

Incubus is one of those rare gems that you have to see for many reasons. I am glad SciFi helped restore it.

I would like to learn Esperanto.

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 8 August 2006]

Obviously, the two things that "Incubus" really has going for it are that it's spoken entirely in the artificial language of Esperanto (listening to that language, it sounds like a bastardization of Italian), and that it stars William Shatner right before he became Capt. Kirk. He plays a man who gets involved with a devil woman. I know, it doesn't sound like much, but it's neat hearing Esperanto spoken. As it is, this movie seems sort of like a premonition of Shatner's movie "The Devil's Rain" (in which he also battles the Prince of Darkness).

So anyway, this is a neat time capsule. And Esperanto sounds like a neat language. I'd like to learn it.

The eternal struggle between Good and Evil

[sol-kay · 7/10 · 26 April 2005]

**SPOILERS** In the town of Nomen Tuum there's this well, the Deer Well, that attracts people from all over in the hope of giving them powers beyond their abilities in enhancing their vain and selfish desires. As well as curing their ailments and illnesses.

At the beginning of the film "Incubus" we see this big klutz Olin, Robert Fortier, taking a drink from the well and spitting it out because it's as salty as sea water. All of a sudden Kia, Allyson Ames, appears out of nowhere and tempts the poor helpless oaf to follow her to the seashore for a romp on the sand with her and him naked. Falling on his head and with the seawater covering him Kia steps on him causing Olin to drown. Kia is a demon in woman's form and she uses her beauty to tempt men and women to go astray and commit evils that cause them to end up in the domain of the King of Darkness thus losing their souls.

Kia unsatisfied with gathering corrupt person to the Kingdom of Darkness wants something of a more changeling and rewarding task for her to preform. Like getting a incorruptible soul for her to defile and present it to the Devil. But Kia is told by her sister and fellow demon Amael, Eloise Hardt, that it's too dangerous to confront someone thats truly good because he can corrupt her in the opposite direction. This can make her a kind and loving person or even cause her to have a soul of her own.

Unheeding her sister's warning Kia focus' in on young Marc and his sister Arndis, Willian Shatner & Ann Atwar, in an attempt to corrupt them and send their souls to the King of Darkness as a gift. But in the end Kia learned the hard way what her sister told her about the dangers of confronting a good kind and loving soul. It turned that even the dreaded demon the Incusbus ,Milos Milos, who was summoned from Hell to help her, couldn't stop Marc. From not only destroying Kia and her fellow women demons but himself as well from having the ability to do their evil work for the Devil.Marc's kind and loving soul turned Kia away from the evil that she was under and made her as pure and good like himself. Thus leaving the Devil with fried egg on his face.

Re-mastered and digitally enhanced the movie "Incusbus" is as sharp clear and crisp as it was when it was first released some 40 years ago back in 1965. Director Leslie Stevens gives the film that Ingmar Bergman look and feel that has you mesmerized all through the movie. The stunning black and white photography is about as sharp and effective as you would see in any Bergman movie. A minor classic that has been uncovered after all these years and is more then worth you time seeing and enjoying.

Good...but could have been better...

[jcaraway3 · 6/10 · 30 May 2010]

I'm not quite sure how to feel about this one. I want to like these art house type movies, but they can be a bit dull at times like this one. I liked it's use of Esperanto. It, and the fact that it takes place in a fictional place make it seem otherworldly, but it could have had more eerie moments and less of Shatner and the rest of the cast wandering seemingly aimlessly through the woods. And speaking of Shatner, I thought it was funny that he sounds less hammy while speaking in the artificial and ridiculous language "Esperanto" than he did in Star Trek. Anyway, I digress. I liked the movie's simplistic ideas regarding good and evil, and the ending gave me goosebumps, but...it's just one of those movies my mind refused to be disappointed by but I still kind of was. I went in with high expectations and left refusing to admit it wasn't as good as I had expected. It wasn't as scary as I wanted it to be.

Esperanto or no Esperanto, this is a boring film!

[Coventry · 4/10 · 5 September 2005]

Leslie Stevens' "Incubus" is another one of those films that got rewarded with an immense cult-status way too easily! Simply because it was presumed 'lost' for over 30 years and, of course, because all the dialogue is in Esperanto (which sounds a little like Portuguese gibberish), many people wrongly acclaimed it to be a Gothic masterpiece that every cult fanatic should see. Well, all I can say is: don't let the this false reputation tempt you! The basic plot idea is original and ahead of its time, I reckon, and the filming locations definitely are astonishingly beautiful. Yet, these positive aspects nearly can't save "Incubus" from being a dull and poorly scripted film with too much confusion instead of action. The story is supposedly set on the spiritual island of Nomen Tuum (love the name, though!), where gorgeous female demons seduce and kill men who're already condemned to hell anyway. The blond incubus Kia (Allyson Almes) sees a tasty potential victim in Marc (William Shatner in his pre-Star Trek period) but, unfortunately for her, his soul is too pure and his loving personality even drags her away from her master; Satan. Normally, a horror premise like this makes my mouth water but "Incubus" simply is too inept. There's a lot of drivel about the sun and the moon; about shadows and darkness but really NOTHING happens. The Esperanto may be an appealing gimmick, but it gets boring rather quickly and it's actually still a mystery why Stevens chose to make his film in this fairly unknown language. All in one, you can find better things to waste you life on.

unique art film

[sennomo · 8/10 · 2 August 2003]

I give this film high marks specifically because of its originality. Incubus is a truly unique art film. Do not watch it as you would watch most films. Most of the people who dis this film are illogically comparing it with mainstream films.

If you like Shatner's early work (e.g., Twighlight Zone), you'll like him in Incubus. The rest of the actors do a generally good job, too.

If you know Esperanto, I warn you, the Esperanto in this film is horrible. It is my understanding that the director did not want the dialogue to be understood. Each member of the cast trips over a few lines here and there, sometimes so badly that it should be obvious even to those who don't know Esperanto. The funniest thing is that Shatner pronounces Esperanto with a somewhat French accent and he pauses just like he does in English.

(La ideo, ke Esperanto aperas en la filmo varbas; tamen, la esperantoparolado mem en la filmo ja acxas.)

If you don't know Esperanto, do not watch this film for the Esperanto dialogue. It's not a good sample.

Everbody, watch Incubus if you like creepy, experimental art films.

funny

[m_piatra · 7/10 · 25 September 1999]

The fight between good and evil is the central idea of the movie. They say it's Fantasy/Horror, but I think the Horror part is not quite obvious (remember, the movie was made in 1965). Actually, there is a scene in which the role terrible monster is played by a live animal, something like a big goat. The 'horror' scene is quite amusing for somebody who has seen what special effects can do at the end of the century. Try to watch the movie with a large number of people, it's more fun.

Low budget horror in Esperanto

[rosscinema · 5/10 · 11 March 2003]

This is easily a film that has cult status. A succubus is tired of luring men to their deaths because its to easy with the evil in their hearts so she decides to try and get the soul of someone with real goodness in his heart and finds William Shatner who is a soldier nursing a wound and living with his sister. The succubus falls in love as does Shatner but the succubus and her older sister get angry and conjure up the Incubus! Very low budget film was shot around a park in Big Sur, California. The film was shot in black and white and has a "Night of the Living Dead" meets "The Seventh Seal" type of look about it. I actually liked that part of the film. The great Conrad Hall was the cinematographer and a year later would get his first of seven Academy Award nominations. The dialogue is in Esperanto and I know nothing about that language but from what I have read its spoken only so-so by the actors. There is the usual Shatner mannerisms and over dramatizing but he's not that bad here. The music is by Dominic Frontiere who did some Star Trek and Outer Limits episodes and I heard the same piece of music can be heard in The Outer Limits. Sounds like a cross between "The Dark Shadows" and "Taxi Driver". Well acted, well photographed and some effective mood was established in this odd little film and that in itself is more than enough reason to check it out. Definitely has cult status!

Unique Moral Fable

[robert_deveau · 10/10 · 22 August 2003]

Like an orphaned episode of "The Outer Limits", the film INCUBUS wrestles with issues of morality within the framework of a timeless fable. The use of Esperanto allows for dialogue that might have felt overblown if spoken in English, but here fits neatly into the story's dreamlike context. A strong script from director Leslie Stevens, brilliant cinematography from the great Conrad Hall, an evocative score from Dominic Frontiere (all three from "Outer Limits"), and fine work from a good cast (William Shatner is subtle and believable) all add up to a unique film. If you're tired of cops and serial killers and want to use your imagination, give INCUBUS a try.

Gothic horror for the masses?

[testudinidae · 6/10 · 20 May 2020]

Having known about this film and it's history, I revisited it not long ago, enjoying it all over again. I won't go into it's history, many here have already done so, and it's doubtful I would add anything new, but "Incubus" stands as one of my all-time favorites for several reasons.

First, is that it is the only film done in Esperanto that I'm aware of. Second, that was the last production of "Daystar Productions," the same company that produced my favorite sci-fi/horror anthology on TV, back in the 60's, "The Outer Limits." The visuals in certain parts of the film cannot be repeated with the same impact, in color. That it was done by Conrad Hall, who had been director of photography for so many well-known films, such as "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," and "Cool Hand Luke," makes sense, because the visuals in this film are, at times, incredible.the one scene I must point out, is when the two principles are walking in a field of tall grass, about a third of the way through the film. That scene would be about impossible to repeat in color.

That most of the actors in this film met with personal tragedy or death, themselves, is a well-known curse of this movie, as William Shatner is the last surviving member of the cast, and that would also include just about everyone, that had anything to do with Daystar Productions.

One last bit of trivia, is that this film has been shown in certain parts of France every year, without fail, since it's release, back in the 60's. The French have a particular love of this film, presumably because gothic horror is a favorite genre in France? I have no way of knowing, but the could have chosen worse than this film. "Incubus" is a very strange and unique film, in that it was produced with so many departures from what was considered the "norm," for those halcyon days of TV trying to convince America that it had something to offer, for the working masses trying to make sense of the Vietnam War.

reaches new levels of suckdom.

[cableaddict · 1/10 · 5 February 2004]

This either deserves 1/2 star for being ABSURDLY bad, or ten stars for being so bad it's of another universe, thus belonging entirely to it's own genre.

Imagine a Saturday Night Live skit, spoofing Bergman, only without the humor.

Imagine an episode of Twilight Zone, except with virtually no plot whatsoever, and in which the actors seem to read all their lines from cue cards, and for the first time.

Image a really bad exploitation film, WITHOUT the sex, running in semi-slow motion.

You get the idea.

Don't EVER waste any money renting this.

However, if it comes around on cable, by all means check it out for the "I just don't believe someone made this" factor. Get REALLY drunk first, and have lots of stuff ready to throw at the screen. Use a cheap TV, 'cause you may need to throw something through the glass.