Director NikĂ© Huiberts delves into the psyche’s irresistible attraction to the grotesque.
Have horror and terror become naturalized concepts? Short film “INCUBUS” takes this question and delves deep into the truth behind the notion of “horrific”. NikĂ© Huiberts, the project’s Creative Director, moves away from externalised horror and pursues an investigation into internal horror and its innate monstrosity and corresponding curiosity within the human psyche.
Driven by (and drawing from) Bulgarian-French philosopher and critic Julia Kristeva’s “Power of Horror: An Essay on Abjection”, “INCUBUS” concerns itself with the visceral experience of “the state of being cast off”. The project is a powerful, somehow elegant yet unsettling display, as within horror there’s beauty, and within intrigue there’s repulsion. Watching “INCUBUS” is a process of self-actualisation concerning the human mind and its inherent attraction to unsettling aspects of human nature and its surroundings. Within the “INCUBUS” manifesto, NikĂ© writes: “Repression is always an acknowledgement of want”. This philosophy is radically present in hindsight of watching; the discomfort only urges us to pursue the endeavour, for the beauty behind the art-piece is enthralling.
Written, directed, produced, and edited by: Niké Huiberts
Performance:Â Lisette Ros
Starring:Â Anouk Brouwer
Assistant to director: Joy Bomer
Assistant on production and art direction: Gregory Barendregt
Cinematography: Zeeger Verschuren and Juilan Lomaga
1stAD:Â Alex Heringa
3D animation: Tobias Groot
Music and sound:Â Marnix Vinkenborg
Styling: Lea Wilbrand
Makeup: Fae van Venetiën and Elvira Hilgevoord
Hair: Martin Wentzel
Bondage: Raymond Huizinga
Narrative: Tibor Csuprik
Colourist: Niké Huiberts and Joy Bomer
Voice over: Daria Lucianova
Photography: Tessa Ruger
Typeface title from CAVAS:Â Daniel Martins