Writers: Glenn Ciano, Carl V. Dupré
Director: Glenn Ciano
New Demon, New Nightmare
Inkubus starts with a birth going drastically wrong then shifts to the main character, police detective Tom (Joey Fatone) in a straight jacket, raving about demons. Shift into flashback and we get a strange man walk into police station carrying a severed head. The man is Inkubus (Robert Englund), a demonic serial killer. Today is his 100th birthday and he needs to impregnate a mortal woman in order to be reborn. But he also intends to have some fun and the rest of the film has him using his powers of magic and mind control as he kills off the rest of the cast.
It’s not much of a story, basically a slasher with a supernatural element. The characters don’t have a chance so there’s no tension. And with the birth scene at the beginning we know who’s going to survive and how Inkubus will be reborn.
And yet it works. Despite the limp story full of plot holes, Inkubus has a really good atmosphere. This is partly due to Ciano’s direction but mainly down to Englund who just oozes character, screen presence and menace. The rest of the cast are decent enough, except perhaps William Forsythe who is unconvincing as washed up detective Gil Diamante – I think the makeup is at fault. But this is Englund’s film and he makes it work.
The preference Inkubus has for long knives underlines similarities between him and Freddy Kreuger, but this is a much subtler and (for me) more scary character.
With a better story Inkubus could have been great. As it is, it’s worth watching with brain in neutral just to let Englund’s charisma wash over you.