The Incubus (1982)

When a series of brutal rapes and murders strikes the town of Galen, Pennsylvania, it's up to Dr. Sam Cordell to figure out who - or what - is behind the attacks. As he investigates the evidence with the police and the editor of the town newspaper, his daughter must figure out what is wrong with her boyfriend, Tim, and how his nightmares about witch trials tie into the attacks. Could the erratic Tim be the attacker? Or is there a sinister supernatural force at work? Frankly if you read the title of the movie, you have a pretty good idea of who is brutalizing these victims.

John Cassavetes, who I recognized as the jerk husband in Rosemary's Baby, is very effective here as a jerk doctor. He is bossy, creepy, short-tempered, and insensitive to say the least, but he gets results. It's hard to root for him as a character, but he's what we have to work with. His daughter in the movie is also feisty and tough, but her weenie boyfriend Tim is just kindof irritating as he fights off his nightmares.

This is a weird, somewhat difficult movie, folks. There are several uncomfortable scenes involving rape, and there is more clinical use of the words "rape" and "sperm" than anyone has ever depicted outside of a Health class filmstrip. So it's pretty grim, and has a downer ending, but it also comes close to a bit of jarringly goofy black magic nonsense with Tim the boyfriend's overprotective grandmother.

Furthermore,  the attacks depicted are episodic and lacking in characterization - which is to say that they happen time and again to characters who had not previously appeared in the movie, so we don't know who they are, but it seems like we are supposed to. Most of the victims are friends with Tim and his girlfriend, but we don't get scenes of them interacting together. It's just weird scriptwriting and directing.

The Incubus is a grim, gruesome movie that is fairly hard to watch. The enjoyably jerky performance of John Cassavetes saves it from being completely mean-spirited and repulsive. It's a pretty good looking movie, and the score (and cameo concert scene featuring heavy metal band Samson and their lead singer, future Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson) are solid. I can't say the movie is a good time, but it is a horror movie, so it's supposed to be horrifying. It's a decently well-made movie, but it's not really my cup of tea.