The Film (3.5/5)   

The town of Galen is awoken from its quiet life, when a string of sexual murders begin to occur. The first finds a woman's uterus destroyed, but without any traces of sperm inside of her, or so Dr. Sam Cordell (the legendary John Cassavetes) states.  However, the 2nd leaves a large deposit inside the victim which makes Cordell at first believe the killing and rape was a group affair until the color of the substance appears inhuman. Into this comes police sheriff Walden (John Ireland), and a newspaper reporter Laura Kincaid, who notes the similarities of these murders to others that plagued the town 30 years ago.   The investigation seems to lead to the last descendants of the town of Galen, but is there more to it than that?

    The Incubus is directed by John Hough who has a pedigree in both horror and exploitation having directed films as diverse as The Legend of Hell House (my personal favorite Haunted House film), Twins of Evil, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, and the Disney produced Watcher in the Woods.  This film, however, leans more toward the exploitation side of horror than his previous works.   It is quite a strong affair mixing his penchant for the gothic as displayed in the works Twins of Evil and Legend of Hell House with the slasher and exploitation film movements that had been popularized since then.

    Of course, even John Cassavetes in a slasher film is still a John Cassavetes performance, and one must assume he was trying to raise the funding for "Love Streams" with his performance here. Even so, he delivers a solid turn as the town doctor that is acting one part doctor, one part investigator.   The other performances range from passable to solid, but Cassavetes as per his standard steals the show. 

     The Incubus has been released a handful of times on DVD, and each time I'd say has gotten solid treatment, and reception, which is fortunate, as the film is a strong film that I believe deserves a better reputation than the one it has been largely saddled with over it's 30 year life. It's not an easy film to sit through due to the sexual nature of the violence, but those that can handle it, will find themselves with quite a very good gothic toned, slasher experience handled by a great director, and anchored by one of the all-time greats at the top of the cast.

Audio/Video  (4/5)

    Vinegar Syndrome (and I know you will all be shocked) do outstanding work with their Blu-ray of The Incubus. The Blu-ray looks and sound marvelous with a 4k scan of the negative plus a 35mm print for the last reel. The change isn't too bad, though, and the overall experience looks fantastic. Colors are well reproduced, grain is very natural, and detail is excellent throughout.

    Audio is handled by a DTS-HD MA mono track that sounds quite well and without apparent issue.

Extras (3.5/5)

    The disc kicks off with a commentary by the Hysteria Continues, interviews with Hough, actor Kerrie Keane, and DP Albert J. Dunk, also trims and alternate shots, trailers, and TV spots.

Overall

    The Incubus is a slasher-gothic hybrid in small town New England that works very well, and deserves a larger audience. The Blu-ray looks and sounds fantastic, and has a nice slate of extras. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.