"Incubus" is one hell of a bizarre and trashy horror film. In fact, it's just bizarre enough and trashy enough to keep its viewers watching out of sheer curiosity. It doesn't exactly have a strong story; it's based on a novel by Ray Russell, and perhaps something was lost in the transition to film.

The story is about brutal rapes & murders being committed in a small Wisconsin town named Galen. A relative newcomer to the town, doctor Sam Cordell (a slumming John Cassavetes),tries hard to help the frustrated local police chief, Hank Walden (John Ireland),by working the clues. Meanwhile, Sams' daughter Jenny (Erin Noble) is dating a local boy, Tim Galen (Duncan McIntosh) whose nightmares serve as precursors to the crimes.

As directed by John Hough ("The Legend of Hell House"),this is interesting, to say the least. It's a very amusing and relentlessly nasty film that should have its audience feeling sympathy for the poor female victims. Making it worth sticking with is a central performance by the great, Oscar-nominated Cassavetes, who often sports a strained smile on his face. The other actors, including Ireland, Noble, McIntosh, Kerrie Keane as the trouble-making newspaper editor, Helen Hughes, Harvey Atkin, and Harry Ditson, are okay, but this is definitely Cassavetes' show. (The story that I've heard is that he used his paycheck from this picture to help fund his 1984 film "Love Streams".)

People who enjoy twisted little details in stories will be intrigued to watch as Cordell kisses his daughter on the lips and peers at her while she emerges from a shower. Overall, this is pretty creepy stuff, and it is NOT without its fun moments. One of them is seeing a pre-Iron Maiden Bruce Dickinson performing with Samson, the band he was in at the time. Another is the sequence with a farming family; the gun-toting dad is struck in the neck with a pitchfork and as a result accidentally blows off his foot! The camera-work in a subsequent scene that reveals a victim through the crack at the bottom of a door is VERY impressive. People also might enjoy the twist ending when the title demons' human guise is revealed. The atmosphere is decent and the gore well-executed when it is utilized. There is also some good nudity for the voyeurs among us. Horror fans should find this an acceptable entertainment.

Six out of 10.

To say that The Incubus is underrated is quite the understatement.From start till finish (even with a somewhat flawed script) it keeps you interested.There is a very good build up in suspense and it is gory when needed.Not everything is what it seems and there are a few red herrings thrown it to keep the viewer guessing.Now there are some sexual themes touched perhaps to deepen the intrigue which do work to a degree but overall distract the viewer a little.It looked like they realised this in the latter part of the film where events have been opened up and defined more and sort of let go these sexual themes.Not that it becomes clearer.Because some oft the raised questions are left unanswered.Which surprisingly works in favour of the ending.The acting is pretty darn good and it is nice to see these fine actors take the main plot seriously.John Cassavettes brings in that extra sophistication and is able to be interesting because of the underlying sexual themes I was talking about earlier and a little sub plot that could be seen as an explanation to his behaviour.But also could be a red herring as well.For the build up of tension and suspense it is extremely effective but I can understand that it could lead to some disappointment for viewers who wanted to see his story explained.Maybe the minimalistic approach of the plot is not for everyone.And normally I don't like that either.But in this case I did.For ones who still aren't convinced I think it is best to view this as a slasher with Gothic elements.Definitely worth your time.

In a small Wisconsin town a series of aggressive rapes and bloody murders plague the community with the police authorities baffled to who or what is responsible. The local, drained-out Dr. Cordell is called upon to examine the bodies when they start to pile up. He is basically a newcomer to the town, along with his teenage daughter. His daughter's boyfriend is having terrible nightmares that he believes are connected to the brutal deaths and this leads Cordell to the conclusion that they are facing a supernatural threat.

There are some deft touches evident, but what foils this luridly, glum Canadian B-grade shocker is that it's criminally, under-developed. Even though it's compelling, it could have been so much more, but in the end it's a basic routine format of a slasher flick with supernatural overtones that just sits there and turns into an incomplete muddle of who-ha. Just like a dream does, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense and the story fits that description. And for most time what a slow moving and quite uneventful exercise it was. The mysterious story, which is taken by Ray Russell's novel just, seems rather dead and irrational with little in the way of character and sub-plot developments. Also some strange occurrences pop up in the contexts that are never truly expanded on. But maybe that was the editing? These sudden offbeat interruptions involving nightmare sequences lack any sort of structure and the script lacks drive. There is some disquieting, hysterical and rather callous moments worked into the film, but they aren't terribly graphic and there's a small dosage of flesh included. The demonic spirit; The Incubus is mostly kept off screen when it attacks its victims, until it finally shows in a couple of frames in the final few minutes of the film. The design of the monster looked top-notch. When it does come to it's conclusion, it leaves you with a blank expression on your face and you going "Come again?" Quite like what Cassavetes looks like throughout most of the film. The performances teeter on plain drab or dramatically over-the-top. Kerrie Kane takes the cake on that latter point and John Cassavetes in the lead role seems really out-of-it and in a state of bemusement. He plays Dr. Cordell is such a weary state that he just feels distant and rather distracted to what's actually happening. The direction by John Hough is definitely the film's strong point with Hough creating a cold and dark heavy air that sucks the life out of the picture. A highly atmospheric and robust score surrounds proceedings adding to the nauseating awe and the racy soundtrack harps on. On the surface the film's slick photography has a wide range of inventive shots and arty angles. Visually it looked well with many solid techniques integrated into this production, despite some cheap fumbles.

"Incubus" has an interestingly foreboding set-up with a decent looking production, but sloppy handling within the material and out-of-sorts performances bring this one down to mediocre.