THE INCUBUS (1982)

BIG HORROR IN ’INCUBUS’ IS THE ACTING
Miami Herald, The (FL) - September 25, 1982
Author: TERRY KELLEHER Herald Arts Writer


They say John Cassavetes appears in junk movies to raise money for quality films of his own making.

He certainly seems distracted throughout The Incubus, in which he assumes the traditional horror -picture role of the town doctor who inspects a succession of gored bodies and declares: "This is not the work of an ordinary human being."

The first time we see Cassavetes he’s behind the wheel of a parked car. He sits. He squints. He puffs on a cigaret. He
sighs. He squints some more. Come on, John, you have to start acting sometime.

Between and within lines, Cassavetes inserts pauses that suggest nothing except a wandering mind. At times he actually seems to be nodding off. "Do you hear me, Doctor?" demands a weird old woman after Cassavetes shows no reaction to a particularly ominous revelation. The doc doesn’t even bother to run a comb through his hair. "You look awful," a female reporter observes. She’s right.

Of course, a pro like Cassavetes knows a few tricks to keep on his toes. In a scene that places all the principals at a long table, Cassavetes disdains a chair and crouches, so that we see him only from the neck up. An intriguing interpretation. Is the character hiding something, besides his shirt? Cassavetes gives numerous broad hints of incestuous overtones in the physician’s relationship with his 18-year-old daughter. They never amount to anything but, hey, anything to relieve the monotony.

Monotony is the main problem with The Incubus. This Canadian film is not cheaply done; indeed, the publicity boasts of a $7-million budget. It’s no bloodier and no more degraded than most of today’s shockers, though director John Hough does take us to the autopsy room once or twice too often.

Nothing is new, that’s all. The closeup of the eyeball? Check. The "eerie" music that serves as an early-warning system, thereby reducing rather than enhancing suspense? It’s here. The cockeyed camera angles? Got ’em. Does the pretty tease in the bikini get hers when the monster comes around? Are you kidding?

The burning issue in The Incubus is auto registration. The movie was shot in Ontario; the story is supposed to be set in New England. But Cassavetes’ car bears a Wisconsin license plate. Pull over, mack.

Movie Review

The Incubus (R) *

...

CAST

John Cassavetes, John Ireland, Kerrie Keane, Erin Flannery, Duncan McIntosh, Helen Hughes

CREDITS

Director: John Hough

Producers: Marc Boyman, John Eckert

Screenwriter: George Franklin

Cinematographer: Albert Dunk

Music: Stanley Myers



An Artists Releasing/Film Ventures International Release



Gore, violence, nudity



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