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Reader Note: Einsiders.com was granted an advanced copy of “Incubus” by the original producer
Anthony M. Taylor. Mr. Taylor may even be gracious enough to grant us an interview.
I encourage anyone interested in purchasing a copy of this truly unique ground-breaking
piece of horror history to contact Mr. Taylor at incubusthefilm.com.
Famed Cinematographer Conrad L. Hall gives us some interesting points of view in 'Incubus'
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Would it excite you if I told you to rent (or in this case purchase) a film that
was basically an adult fairy tale in which the actors spoke in an artificial language
not understood by most of the world? Would your curiosity pique if I told you that
this film starred William Shatner? Would it help if I told you that the man behind
the camera was acclaimed cinematographer Conrad L. Hall, A.S.C.? Yes, the same Mr.
Hall responsible for the fine complex compositions of “In Cold Blood” and the wonderful
Oscar winning work seen more recently in “American Beauty.”
Would be enough if I told you that this mystery film was actually pretty good?
The film is the infamous “Incubus” directed by Leslie Stevens (see “The Outer Limits”) and
produced by Anthony M. Taylor in 1965. After 30 years, it is slowly making its way back to
America, this time with a bit of nostalgia to aid it in its rounds. The artificial language
is Esperanto which according to Britannica.com was constructed in 1887 by a Polish genius named
L.L. Zamenhof. The film is great looking, lacking in pretense and worthy of purchase or, if it
becomes available, the price of a new release rental.
The Story:
Shatner delivers a solid performance without one word of English.
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A beautiful Succubus (think seductive female demon guys) named Kia, played by the
enchanting Allyson Ames, inhabits the shore line near an other worldly village luring men to
their death. This Succubus has become bored with her lot in life and seeks a challenge.
Her challenge is found in William Shatner’s Marc, a soldier/farmer who has come to the
village to drink from the ancient Deer Well in hopes that its mystic powers will speed
his recovery from some mysterious wound (he seems to limp around at times throughout the tale).
Love creeps in and all Hell breaks loose when the Incubus (male seductive demon) arises to
reclaim the Succubus from the light side (as opposed to the dark side, if you get my drift).
The Review:
My Wife even liked this one. It was entertaining, even though, at times, it was stagy
and awkward. In black and white, it was great to look at with a marvelous camera shot
through a series of windows that showcases Conrad L. Hall’s talent behind the camera.
The seductive Incubus (Milos Milos) does not mince words.
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With regard to Mr. Hall (the cinematographer of “Incubus”), Rusty White of
einsiders.com reminded me of the brilliant scene in “In Cold Blood” where Robert Blake’s character is filmed
through a window pane where it appears that the rain drops on the window glass are tears on his face.
Rusty told me that he saw an interview with Mr. Hall in which Hall humbly explained that the “In Cold
Blood” scene was an accident. I would be interested in seeing such interview.
The young Succubus in “Incubus” is played by Allyson Ames in a wide-eyed ingenue type
performance. Sprite-like she flits through the forest and down to the shore line of
Big Sur (the actual location of filming). Star Trek’s William Shatner is believable
in the role of the wounded soldier/farmer but seemed somewhat out of place to me.
Pre-Trek Shatner plays Marc, pictured here with his naive sister, Arndis (Ann Atmar).
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I speculated with my non-Trek influenced wife (I have been a fan since birth, she
could not tell a Vulcan from a Tribble) why it was that I found Shatner to be wrong
for the role. She told me that to her for most of the film Shatner seemed too clean
and open-faced. Of course, she followed that up by stating that, given his character,
such attributes were appropriate. I concluded that it was prejudice through type-casting
that made me wince everytime Shatner spoke in this odd artificial language. Still, Shatner
is good here--emoting less through the characteristic jerks synonymous with his Kirk alter-ego
and more with quite natural male responses to the affection of a pretty young thing.
The violence in the film is intelligent and unnerving while stagy and awkward. Fight scenes
are cropped and slow going, perhaps, more realistic but not palatable to today’s “Matrix”
generation. Still, we were spared Shatner’s double handed judo chop to the neck and given
the use of a sharp stick to inflict far worse and more graphic injury.
Young Succubus (Allyson Ames) strikes a familiar pose.
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Finally, Esperanto, the weird language spoken by the actors is not distracting although it
may have been a bit limiting in that the dialogue is short and to the point. Although I
would not know the difference, the talk on the net (see IMDB
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0059311
for example) is that the Esperanto spoken in the film is poorly pronounced mainly due, I would
surmise, to the fact that none of the actors actually spoke the language and the makers of the
film had to have the script translated. Factoid: According to Britannica.com, “more than 100
periodicals are published in the language,” and “more than 30,000 books have been published in
Esperanto.” See. Britannica.com at
http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/...query=esperanto
Certainly, the surreal nature of the film is heighten by the use of an artificial language, black and white photography, and the Big Sur location. Throw in the Shatner connection, a little nostalgia, sprinkle in fairy dust, and you are left with a unique viewing experience.
Jonathan Hickman
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