Incubus (1965)

Director:

Leslie Stevens

Writer:

Leslie Stevens (writer)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Esperanto | Allegory | Brother Sister Relationship | Drowning | Eclipse

Cast

William Shatner	...	Marc
Allyson Ames	...	Kia
Eloise Hardt	...	Amael
Robert Fortier	...	Olin
Ann Atmar	...	Arndis
Milos Milos	...	Incubus
Paolo Cossa	...	Narrator
Ted Mossman	...	Monk
Jay Ashworth	...	Monk
Forrest T. Butler	...	Monk

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:

In Esperanto, an Incubus (a male demon who seduces women) is "inkubo" (een-KOO-bo). But when Arndis says she's had a nightmare, nightmare in Esperanto is also "inkubo", or preferably "inkubsong^o" (een-koob-SON-jo).

Goofs:

Factual errors: The eclipse proceeds too fast, holds too long at totality, then ends too fast. It becomes way too dark during totality.

Quotes:

Amael: He has faced death, Kia.
Kia: They all face death, all of them.
Amael: He was unafraid!
Kia: Is that so pure and noble? The beasts in the fields have courage. The smallest bird will beat its wings and claw a weasel in its nest.
Amael: But his courage went beyond self-preservation.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Blade: Trinity (2004)

Uncanny

It is correct to compare this independent, low-budget, black-and-white atmospheric horror film with others of its decade, such as "Carnival of Souls" and "Night Tide," and it's also correct to compare it with Bergman, since there is clearly a touch of "Seventh Seal" here and possibly a bit of "Virgin Spring" and "The Devil's Eye." But I'd like to point this out: the most obvious comparison people make is with "Persona" because of the strikingly composed "sister" shots, which evoke the famous profile compositions of Bergman's movie, yet "Persona" was made a year later, in 1966! ("Hour of the Wolf" was made three years later, in 1968.) Therefore, while we can say Leslie Stevens and Conrad Hall were influenced by Bergman, it's also reasonable to suppose that since this film played at the Venice Film Festival, Bergman might have been influenced by "Incubus"!

The awkward moments--I'm thinking especially of the last scene--create a rare accident that only occurs in low-budget films. The effects are so obvious and ludicrous that you're half-inclined to ridicule the scene with an "Oh, come on!" Yet at the same time, what it's trying to get across is so inherently disturbing that you also feel the frisson of real horror. It's a kind of accidental alienation effect. This state of conflict in the viewer's mind--half pitched out of the spell and rejecting what we see for what we know, and half shocked into ghastly conviction--this frame of mind is where is the uncanny takes effect.