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Post by Captain Spencer on May 26, 2019 3:51:15 GMT
 Picked up the Vinegar Syndrome blu-ray today and just finished watching it. Before the movie started there was a disclaimer stating that even though the best film elements possble were used for transferring, there was some damage on one of the reels. However, it really isn't that noticable, so overall it was a decent presentation. Anyway, this Canadian film has all the ingredients that any horror fan can ever hope for; it has creatively gruesome killings, a scary monster, a chilling music score, intensity, and a seriously grim tone with no humor. It's also incredibly misogynistic; some of the women being raped are shown screaming in extreme agony (it's hinted that the demon has a very large organ). But the problem with Incubus is that it's frustratingly convoluted. There are some unanswered questions that should have been answered. One can easily point a finger at the script, but according to the audio commentary John Cassavetes actually did an 80% rewrite of the original script. And according to director John Hough, Cassavetes also encouraged improvisation on the set; it was basically a "toss the script aside and just wing it" kind of attitude. So it is these two factors that likely contributed to the story being so disjointed. Despite all the narrative shortcomings, I did find Incubus to be an above average horror movie. Hough did a fabulous job in creating a very chilling atmosphere, and handled the murder scenes with a lot of flair. The entire cast performed well, with some of the actors delivering very intense performances (especially Duncan McIntosh as the troubled teen who has premonitions of the demon). Cassavetes also does a fine job, although sometimes he seems to be having trouble keeping a straight face during serious scenes. I'm hoping to read the source novel, written by Ray Russell.
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Post by petrolino on May 26, 2019 10:58:30 GMT
Picked up the Vinegar Syndrome blu-ray today and just finished watching it. Before the movie started there was a disclaimer stating that even though the best film elements possble were used for transferring, there was some damage on one of the reels. However, it really isn't that noticable, so overall it was a decent presentation. Anyway, this Canadian film has all the ingredients that any horror fan can ever hope for; it has creatively gruesome killings, a scary monster, a chilling music score, intensity, and a seriously grim tone with no humor. It's also incredibly misogynistic; some of the women being raped are shown screaming in extreme agony (it's hinted that the demon has a very large organ). But the problem with Incubus is that it's frustratingly convoluted. There are some unanswered questions that should have been answered. One can easily point a finger at the script, but according to the audio commentary John Cassavetes actually did an 80% rewrite of the original script. And according to director John Hough, Cassavetes also encouraged improvisation on the set; it was basically a "toss the script aside and just wing it" kind of attitude. So it is these two factors that likely contributed to the story being so disjointed. Despite all the narrative shortcomings, I did find Incubus to be an above average horror movie. Hough did a fabulous job in creating a very chilling atmosphere, and handled the murder scenes with a lot of flair. The entire cast performed well, with some of the actors delivering very intense performances (especially Duncan McIntosh as the troubled teen who has premonitions of the demon). Cassavetes also does a fine job, although sometimes he seems to be having trouble keeping a straight face during serious scenes. I'm hoping to read the source novel, written by Ray Russell.
I've not seen this movie in many years (since the days of VHS video) and can barely remember it now. I like several films from director John Hough so I'm keen to see it again. Thanks for the review.
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Post by Captain Spencer on May 26, 2019 14:29:05 GMT
Picked up the Vinegar Syndrome blu-ray today and just finished watching it. Before the movie started there was a disclaimer stating that even though the best film elements possble were used for transferring, there was some damage on one of the reels. However, it really isn't that noticable, so overall it was a decent presentation. Anyway, this Canadian film has all the ingredients that any horror fan can ever hope for; it has creatively gruesome killings, a scary monster, a chilling music score, intensity, and a seriously grim tone with no humor. It's also incredibly misogynistic; some of the women being raped are shown screaming in extreme agony (it's hinted that the demon has a very large organ). But the problem with Incubus is that it's frustratingly convoluted. There are some unanswered questions that should have been answered. One can easily point a finger at the script, but according to the audio commentary John Cassavetes actually did an 80% rewrite of the original script. And according to director John Hough, Cassavetes also encouraged improvisation on the set; it was basically a "toss the script aside and just wing it" kind of attitude. So it is these two factors that likely contributed to the story being so disjointed. Despite all the narrative shortcomings, I did find Incubus to be an above average horror movie. Hough did a fabulous job in creating a very chilling atmosphere, and handled the murder scenes with a lot of flair. The entire cast performed well, with some of the actors delivering very intense performances (especially Duncan McIntosh as the troubled teen who has premonitions of the demon). Cassavetes also does a fine job, although sometimes he seems to be having trouble keeping a straight face during serious scenes. I'm hoping to read the source novel, written by Ray Russell.
I've not seen this movie in many years (since the days of VHS video) and can barely remember it now. I like several films from director John Hough so I'm keen to see it again. Thanks for the review.
Yes John Hough has done an interesting array of films, especially of the horror genre. My favorite is The Legend Of Hell House.
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Post by Prime etc. on May 26, 2019 19:58:00 GMT
My favorite is The Legend Of Hell House. "You weren't even five feet tall!"
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Post by Captain Spencer on May 30, 2019 14:15:13 GMT
Not bad! My vhs tape has what I see as a jarring cut of a lady in the library being stalked, as though the rape attack scene was suddenly cut short. Not sure if this was intentional editing or a censor cut. Yep, and it's still the same way on the blu-ray. She's walking around the library and suddenly it cuts to her being plowed through a shelf of books. I also wondered if it was a poor edit or something that was cut to avoid an X rating. Very strange.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Jun 1, 2019 9:52:04 GMT
Seen it twice. Hated it. 1/10
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Post by Captain Spencer on Apr 12, 2021 2:45:37 GMT
I finally had the chance to read the novel by Ray Russell. It's a lot different from the movie and of course much better. All those important plot points that the movie failed to cover are explained in the book, such as the origin of the incubus and why the creature was raping women. But, as I've said above, the movie still gets high points for the chilling atmosphere and high intensity level even though the script was a total mess.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Apr 16, 2021 3:15:28 GMT
I finally had the chance to read the novel by Ray Russell. It's a lot different from the movie and of course much better. All those important plot points that the movie failed to cover are explained in the book, such as the origin of the incubus and why the creature was raping women. But, as I've said above, the movie still gets high points for the chilling atmosphere and high intensity level even though the script was a total mess. The interview on the bluray made it sound like Cassavetes seemed to have influence on what was filmed, and went off the cuff at times... so possibly the script became secondary. So the script might have been fine, but the cherry picking of it might explain the overall messy nature? P.s my bad... I re-read your original review and noticed you already mentioned the above. 😁
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