Plot: What’s it about?
Marc (William Shatner) is a good man and after his time in the war, he returns home with some injuries sustained. He soon becomes the focus of a plan devised by Kia (Allyson Ames), a female demon who likes to kill for pleasure. But she has become too skilled at killing impure men and since it now bores her, she wants to play the game with Marc, who has a pure heart and strong will. So Kia begins her attempted seduction and as expected, Marc is able to resist her charms and remain true to his beliefs. This sparks an unexpected reaction within Kia, who finds herself falling in love with him, which is not good news. You see, this enrages her sister demon and as a result, she summons the Incubus (Milos Milos) to cause some chaos. If this seems like a thin synopsis, it is and I admit that, as this film is very hard to summarize. But you have the basic premise, so I think that’ll work and I didn’t even have to include any spoilers, which is good.
Back in 1965, Incubus opened to acclaim and seemed to be a success, but then a terrible turn of events came to pass. A freak lab accident caused the destruction of the negative, as well as the prints and in case that doesn’t connect, Incubus had been lost forever. But the search was on and after over thirty years of being M.I.A., a single print of Incubus was discovered. With this release, the restored and remastered Incubus is now available to the masses, to return to the audience it never had the chance to attain. I was pleased to be able to view this film at last and while it wasn’t an instant classic, it was good and well worth the effort. William Shatner (before Star Trek) turns in a performance that defies his later persona, while the rest of the cast is also decent enough, given the short shooting schedule and minuscule budget involved. The film’s dialogue is spoken in Esperanto and while the cast isn’t always fluid with their words, I was never distracted by their deliveries. In the end, Incubus is an atmospheric thriller with some terrific moments, well worth a look if you’re at all interested. I am also pleased with Winstar’s solid disc and come on, how can you pass an audio commentary with William Shatner?
It is hard to think of old Willie Shatner before he was Kirk on Star Trek, but he was around and one year before Kirkdom, he starred in Incubus. The usual dialogue patterns don’t seem as present here and in truth, Shatner turns in a solid performance, very impressive indeed. This was a quick shoot and the budget was small, but Shatner seems to be up to the task and has some very good scenes in this flick. It is a little strange to see him speaking Esperanto at times, but he is decent enough and doesn’t often botch it up too much. We don’t often hold Shatner in much esteem as an actor, but in this case, he more than delivers the goods. You can also see Shatner in such films as National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1, Miss Congeniality, Big Bad Mama, The Devil’s Rain, The Intruder, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The cast also includes Allyson Ames (The Phantom Planet, A House Is Not A Home), Milos Milos (The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming), Ann Atmar (Street-Fighter, A Cold Wind In August), and Robert Fortier (The Girl Rush, Popeye).
Video: How does it look?
Incubus is presented in a full frame transfer, which has been restored and remastered for this release. I was very impressed here, as I expected a worn print and got the opposite, as this presentation looks terrific. Some grain and small imperfections are present, but the print is very clean and allows for a sharp overall image. The contrast looks solid also, which is of course vital, since this is a black & white motion picture. Black levels are well balanced and never too dark, which means detail can be high at all times. I am very pleased with this restored transfer, very good indeed on this one.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio is presented in the Esperanto language, with subtitles in French or English. The sole print found for Incubus had burned in French subtitles, so the restoration team added English over the top, via blocks with white text. This takes some time to adjust to, but it gets better with time and hey, at least it has English subtitles, right? The sound effects and music come across well enough, but as far as dynamic presence, this one just doesn’t stack up. But the basics are covered and it sounds as good as can be expected, so no hard feelings in the end.
Supplements: What are the extras?
In a welcome notion, Winstar has loaded this disc with supplements, including two audio commentary sessions. The first commentary is with William Shatner, who has a lot to say and trust me, it is one outlandish session. Shatner waxes intellectual on all sorts of topics and at times, even talks about the movie and what the production was like. I was pleased to find Shatner’s track here, but I wish he would have focused more on the film, as opposed to his ideas on the subject matter it explores. The second track features producer Anthony Taylor and cinematographer Conrad L. Hall, as well as a couple other folks. The same folks return in an informative interview session, which runs just under twenty minutes and expands on some issues found in the commentary track. This disc also includes some talent files, text information on The Curse of Incubus, and a new video trailer for the flick. A movie with this kind of legacy needed some informative supplements and in this case, those were provided and then some.
