Arrow Video
4K UHD Release: January 14, 2025
Video: 1.85:1/2160p (HDR10/Dolby Vision)/Black & White (optional open-matte 1.37:1 version in 1080p)
Audio: Esperanto LPCM 1.0 Mono
Subtitles: English and Esperanto SDH
Run Time: 74:09
Director: Leslie Stevens
Wounded in battle, soldier Marc (William Shatner) ventures to the remote village of Nomen Tuum to find a well where the waters are said to be blessed with healing powers. Little does he suspect that the inhabitants of Nomen Tuum are demonic seductresses who entice interlopers and lead them to damnation, and one such succubus, Kia (Allyson Ames), has her sights on Marc. As an eclipse shrouds the sun and darkness falls over the village, Marc and Kia's relationship becomes more passionate... will his soul survive? (From Arrow’s official synopsis)
Not to be confused with John Hough’s underseen 1982 film of the same name, Leslie Stevens’ 1966 film Incubus was one of two films produced entirely in the ‘international auxiliary’ language of Esperanto (along with Jacques-Louis Mahé’s Angoroj [1964]). It’s also well-known among a certain subset of science fiction fans as one of a small collection of films that William Shatner made during (technically just before, in this case) his tenure on Star Trek (1966–’69). But its reputation doesn’t stop there, because Stevens was the creator of cult television series The Outer Limits (1963–’65) and, on top of it all, Incubus was, for a time, a lost film, inflating its reputation beyond realistic expectations.
Having only heard the legend of Incubus over the decades without actually seeing the film, I assumed that these were the most important aspects of its production. Its critical reputation has never been very good and its actual cult following has always been modest. But what is lost in simplified discussions of its admittedly gimmicky use of Esperanto and Shatner’s performance is how visually striking the film is. Incubus was shot by future multi-Oscar winning cinematographer Conrad L. Hall, who, within the next couple of years, would be helming the camera for Stuart Rosenberg’s Cool Hand Luke (1967) and George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). His artful, stark, black & white photography evokes Ingmar Bergman by way of Roger Corman. I intend that as a compliment.
Stevens’ script is so boilerplate that it borders on being entirely unnecessary. The cast often seems like they're participating in an experimental improv exercise, making up everything as they go along, which is only magnified by the unfamiliar language choice and artificial-sounding dialogue. Of course, Esperanto is a ‘real’ language, complete with grammatical rules – it’s not babbling nonsense made up on the spot – and the actors had to learn their lines phonetically, so the screenplay must have been pretty extensive, despite the simplistic and meandering quality of the story. Ideally, this should have been a shorter movie, perhaps even under an hour, like an episode of The Outer Limits would’ve been. Still, at best, when coupled with Rosenberg’s photography and the natural beauty of the locations, the narrative listlessness and use of Esperanto sort of works, in the same way that absurd internal logic works for fairytales and folk horror movies.
Video
As I mentioned, Incubus was considered a lost film after producer Anthony Taylor was told that all negative and print elements were destroyed in a fire. Eventually, a print was discovered in the Cinémathèque Française collection and a restoration was funded by the Sci Fi Channel (I assume it was heavily advertised before it premiered on the channel, but can’t find any evidence backing that up). The film finally debuted on VHS and non-anamorphic DVD from Fox Lorber in 2001. It’s technically out-of-print, but not outrageously expensive, and I believe the streaming version still utilizes the same SD transfer.
This UHD’s 2160p transfer was made using a new 4K restoration of the last surviving 35mm print, produced by Le Chat Qui Fume in France, who released their own barebones UHD in 2023. The fact that they were working from a print is the source of most of the transfer’s problems, specifically the chunkiness of the grain and occasional image wiggle, but the overall effect is very impressive. I think that Rosenberg’s photography being monochromatic and high contrast to boot really helps keep the restoration to look clean and sharp, in spite of minor print condition issues.
I assume that any controversy here pertains to the intended aspect ratio. Le Chat Qui Fume was working from a 1.33:1 print with burned-in French subtitles and has cropped those out via 1.85:1 framing, though they still pop up at the bottom of the screen during particularly wordy scenes. While some of the framing appears tight, these tighter shots are still in-keeping with Rosenberg’s chosen style. Ultimately, I’m pretty sure that we were meant to watch Incubus in 1.85:1, but, for those not convinced, Arrow has included a 1080p open-matte version, complete with burned-in French subtitles, for comparison.
Audio
Incubus is presented in its original Esperanto mono and uncompressed LPCM 1.0. Apparently, the cast’s Esperanto pronunciation is atrocious, but I wouldn’t know the difference, so I’ll just include that little factoid. The combination of music, naturalistic dialogue, and incidental effects do sound rather crowded and compacted into the single channel mix. The people behind the restoration have done an admirable job minimizing distortions and scratches, so everything is clean, just lacking in dynamic range. Composer Dominic Frontiere had worked on plenty of films over the years, but I suspect that he got the job scoring Incubus via his TV connections, as he’d worked on such ‘60s small screen faves as The Flying Nun (1967), Branded (1965), The Invaders (1967), and The Fugitive (1963).
Viewers can also watch the film with an isolated score option in uncompressed LPCM 2.0 stereo.
Extras
Commentary with David J. Schow (widescreen version) – This brand new 2024 track features the critic, novelist, and author of The Outer Limits: The Official Companion (Ace Trade, 1986), who digs deeply into the production, exploring the original script (which helps make sense of the story) and a so-called ‘decoy script,’ the restoration, the careers of the cast & crew, the use of Esperanto, and connections to The Outer Limits.
Commentary with William Shatner (widescreen version) – Recorded in 2001, this original track is more like an extended retrospective interview than screen-specific commentary, but still contains plenty of vital anecdotes from the star’s point-of-view. Not surprisingly, there are some long silent stretches.
Commentary with producer Anthony Taylor, cinematographer Conrad L. Hall, and camera operator/co-cinematographer William Fraker (widescreen version) – Another 2001 track, moderated by Schow, who does a good job, along with Taylor, keeping things moving and drawing out behind-the-scenes stories from the participants.
Words and Worlds: Incubus and Esperanto in Cinema (43:30, HD) – A new presentation by genre historian and comic book artist Stephen Bissette, who discusses the history of the Esperanto language, other ‘invented’ languages, Esperanto’s use in pulp science fiction and horror literature, the many times it showed up in movies and television, including clips, the sometimes absurd logistics of using it for Incubus (Bissette verifies that the script was in both English and Esperanto), and the Esperanto community’s initial rejection of the film.
Internacia Lingvo: A History of Esperanto (22:05, HD) – Esther Schor, the author of Bridge of Words: Esperanto and the Dream of a Universal Language (Metropolitan Books, 2016) offers a more academic history of the language and its uses.
An Interview with the Filmmakers of Incubus (19:15, SD) – Hosted by Schow, this 2001 featurette includes interviews with Taylor, Hall, and Fraker is a companion piece for the group’s commentary track.
2001 video trailer
The images on this page are taken from Arrow's Blu-ray – NOT the 4K UHD – and sized for the page. Larger versions can be viewed by clicking the images. Note that there will be some JPG compression.
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