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Directed by: Leslie Stevens Starring: William Shatner, Milos Milos, Allyson Ames, Ann Atmar Incubus is notable as a horror film for two reasons: 1) The actors in the film speak Esperanto, an artificial language invented over 100 years ago, and 2) It stars William Shatner, who speaks the afore mentioned language. It's important to note these things early on in a review of this film, because horror, as a genre, ages very harshly. Something that was terrifying 40 years ago is significantly less terrifying when viewed today. So it goes with Incubus. To be certain, the film is a work of art. The decision to use an artificial language (imagine a bastardization of Italian and Latin) can either be considered a gimmick, or something that lends itself to the fable-like quality of the film. The film begins with the succubus, Kia (Ames), luring a man to his death. The film then cuts to a soldier, Marc (Shatner), returning home to his sister after being injured in combat. Kia wagers, with her fellow succubi sisters, that she can corrupt Marc's pure heart and lead him to his death. Leading a man of pure heart to his death is forbidden, but she endeavors to do this, regardless of the consequences. The majority of this short film (it runs just under 80 minutes) is spent building suspense. The horror comes in the knowledge of impending doom. Having no special effects to speak of in his film, Stevens does an excellent job of leading his audience to the payoff in the final minutes of the film. There is relatively no gore to speak of; the terror is all in the expertly composed film score. Of course, when one is dealing with creatures from Hell, religion is going to figure prominently into the resolution of the plot, and it does here as well. As a work of art, Stevens' Incubus functions well. The black and white of the film, combined with the impressive score and Esperanto language, come together to make a film that is engaging, if only stylistically so. As a horror movie, the film shows its age. Most modern horror fans are accustomed to being frightened by gore, and sudden jump-style scare tactics. So, unfortunately, most viewers won't find anything to be frightened with here. The Sci-Fi Channel had a hand in restoring this film, and, after watching it, there's no doubt that the decision to do so was a smart choice. Incubus is a lost gem from a long dead era of horror film crafting. It's worth the price of admission just to hear the beautiful language used in the film. However, if you're a proponent of that era of horror films where the building sense of dread in a film was enough to scare you, then viewing Incubus will be all the more rewarding. Rating: 3/5 Incubus http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059311/ Rabid Koala fucked around with this message at 18:18 on May 3, 2004 |
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May 3, 2004 18:14
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| # ? May 3, 2024 07:03 |
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