'Incubus' review by MartialHorror

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INCUBUS(2006)
(Directed by Anya Camilleri)

"So a chick directed this...No wonder there isn't any nudity."- Signed by MartialHorror.

Plot: A bunch of teens hide out in an old, abandoned laboratory in the middle of nowhere and are hunted by….someone.

Review:

“Incubus” is a direct-to-DVD(technically, it’s direct-to-internet) movie starring Tara Reid. You don’t even really need to ask if it’s good or bad, because it’s a direct-to-DVD starring Tara Reid, so you know it’s going to suck. As Tara Reid is the Paris Hilton of acting…..Okay, that’s harsh. Paris Hilton is the Paris Hilton of acting. Tara Reid does have a hint of talent, but that was seemingly lost when she appeared in an Uwe Boll movie. That reality show didn't help things either, as now she just seems....dumb. Despite the fact that “Incubus” is bad, it does have the most important drive of a horror film: Good cinematography.

The story follows Jay(Tara Reid) and her friends as they survive a nasty, off-screen car accident. Unfortunately, they’re in the middle of nowhere and have to worry about the murderous cold that comes with the night. Luckily, they find an old, abandoned, spooky, laboratory! Complete with psychotic killers and all! They sneak into the laboratory in……one of the most contrived and silly ways imaginable. They investigate and learn that there is someone else down there with less than happy intentions for them.

Okay, before people start flaming me for not hating this movie, let me explain why I think good cinematography can make or break a horror film. A good cinematographer can create bleakness, fear, and claustrophobia from the settings. Sure, the director is technically in charge of this, but the cinematographer is what brings it to life. The cinematography here was done by John Lynch, and he treats this movie as if its his only chance to make something of himself. The settings are creepy, the moving camera adds isolation and the use of shadows are effective….Even better, the pre-laboratory scenes are stunningly beautiful. It’s just too bad everything else this movie has to offer is WRONG.

I don’t even know where to begin……The movie is clichéd, and I’m beginning to suspect that calling direct-to-DVD horror films clichéd is becoming clichéd. But everything that happens here is pretty much expected. People split up, and they die. People fall asleep in the most ridiculous moments. People stay behind to get information so we can have a lot of exposition sequences. Speaking of exposition, everyone seems to know A LOT about…everything! Yet the characters do every stupid trick in the book. Characters accidentally kill the wrong people. It ends the same way every horror movie needs to end. In fact, the only cliché that wasn’t delivered is arguably the one that was needed: Sex. Nobody breaks off from the group to have sex with each other…For once, I wish it happened.

Even worse, the film is full of plot holes and…..strange writing. The most obvious of plot holes is how the killer and various characters bite off their own tongues, but have no problem talking near the end. The rest of the film becomes too convoluted, with possessions, freeing ones soul and what was with that……sex scene near the end? Was that a sex scene? It just has Tara Reid moaning and it suddenly becomes a jump scare. When I say jump scare, I mean I didn’t jump or get scared. But clearly that was the intent. In mythology, an Incubus does prey on women by having sex/raping them, but that’s never explained here.

As for the directing, it’s……okay. I’m not really sure what she was responsible for, good or bad, so it’s difficult to judge her. On one hand, the visuals are pretty good, but that’s more likely the cinematographer. On the other hand, the editing really sucks, with annoying inserts of “Against the Dark”-esque scenes of terror- and by terror, I mean there was nothing terrifying about it. The pacing was pretty clunky too. Furthermore, the acting is consistently bad as well, so she does need to take some blame for that. The fact is, the director tells everybody what to do, but can’t do much if the people who she’s ordering around lacks the talent to compensate. So I guess it can be deduced she’s got an eye for visuals, but not much else.

The acting, as I’ve said, is pretty weak. Tara Reid(Jay) starts out okay, but quickly falls into being unintentionally hilarious when she gets all emotional. Russell Carter(Josh) tries too hard to be tough, but he does have some presence. Alice O’Connell(Holly) does decent at times, although the movie works against her. Akemnji Ndifernyan(Bug) does okay when he’s calm, but is pretty bad when he’s yelling or agitated. Christian Brassington(Peter) does the best, but he has a few off moments as well. All in all, despite the fact that the acting isn’t very good, I will state that the movie does okay with the characters in general. You don’t really know who’s going to last the longest.

All in all, I wouldn’t bother giving “Incubus” the time of day. The pacing is off, the acting is weak, the editing is worse, the plot makes little sense and the script feels like the writer wanted to end his career. Sure, the visuals are nice, but that’s not really enough. However, as I find cinematography to be so important in horror films, that kept the movie from becoming utterly boring FOR ME. But does that mean you will be okay with it? Probably not.

Violence: Rated R worthy. There are a few decent scenes of violence.

Nudity: Some sexuality.

Overall: “Incubus” is a bad movie, but it’s a good looking bad movie….which is my favorite kind of bad movie. But still, I wouldn’t bother with it.

2/4 Stars


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