In the quiet little town of Galen, Mandy Pullman (Mitch Martin) and Roy Seeley (Matt Birman) are having a nice day swimming at the local rock quarry. Later that evening Mandy is severely raped and Roy is murdered. Sheriff Hank Walden (John Ireland) notifies Dr. Sam Cordell (John Casavetes). Sam’s examination of Mandy shows that her uterus was ruptured and requires a hysterectomy. The autopsy showed no semen.
At the same time, Tim Galen (Duncan McIntosh) has a horrible nightmare where a woman is being attacked by a hideous monster. Tim is the grandson of Agatha Galen (Helen Hughes), a prominent member of the town that was named after her ancestors and the last matriarch of the Galen family. Agatha tries to comfort her grandson. Tim is also the boyfriend of Sam’s teenage daughter, Jenny (Erin Noble).
Not long after that, another attack occurs. Carolyn Davies (Denise Fergusson) runs the local museum and library. Carolyn is attacked and horribly raped resulting in her death. This time there is copious amounts of semen, and the semen is red in color. The working theory is that she was gang raped but why the semen is red is a question that Sam can’t answer. Next a father is killed, and both his daughters are raped to death. Then, another person at the local movie theater is raped and killed. Sheriff Walden is over his head.
Each time someone is killed and/or raped, Tim has a nightmare about it. He is convinced that he is somehow responsible for the killings. Sam and Sheriff Walden have little to go on. The owner of the local newspaper, Laura Kincaid (Kerrie Keane) does some research into the paper’s archives and finds that thirty years ago similar killings were committed in town, and no one was found guilty. Sam focuses his investigation on Tim and discovers a dark Galen family secret.
“Incubus” was released in 1981 and was directed by John Hough. It is a Canadian supernatural horror thriller with slasher elements. The film was based on the 1976 novel by Ray Russell.
There’s a weird oppressiveness to the acting, most likely due to Casavetes’ moody and brooding performance. It seems that he is credited for writing 80% of his own dialogue. He shouldn’t have. It appears that he was going for contemplative and thought provoking, but he ended up just looking confused and angry.
The movie gets a little disjointed due to a twist at the end that isn’t as seamless as it should be. It’s not a bad movie; in fact, it is mostly good. It just tried to insert too many red herrings and plot devises that went nowhere. It’s flawed, but that’s OK.
An incubus is an ancient mythological demon. It is male but it can shapeshift and appear as any creature, male or female, even humans. Its purpose is to procreate and, to that end, has sexual intercourse with women as they sleep. The corresponding female version is called a succubus.