Incubus is a new to me 4K UHD release, but I’m interested in an early pre-Star Trek William Shatner horror movie. In this Black and White witchcraft movie, he speaks Esperanto. So you read the subtitles but the performance is unmistakenly Shatner and the vibes are creepy.
The black and white film is well restored. Trees become silhouettes of deep shadow in the otherwise bright forest. More ominous shots follow at nightfall, in a cabin by firelight, smoke emanating in the only portion of light in the frame.
The open matte version looks just as good.
In a new commentary, David J. Schow is very knowledgeable about the film, its cast and filmmakers so his talk is rather more eventful than the film itself. When he points out the boom, it’s actually only visible in the open matte version.
A 2001 commentary from Shatner gives a straight recollection of making the film, learning the language (he still knows some phrases) and his costars. He doesn’t quite fill 78 min as it were but he’s committed to it.
More bonus features explain the Esperanto language and films that utilize it. Producer Anthony Taylor and cinematographers Conrad Hall and William Fraker also confirm stories about the production in their 2001 commentary and interview. Their commentary is more scene-specific since they had to shoot and produce those scenes.