The Reptile (1966)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Purely Joyful Movie!

Load of rubbish!!

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Hammer horror flick about a man who goes to a small village to claim the house he inherited from his late brother. He meets with the usual distrustful locals wary of outsiders and soon finds there are mysterious goings-on around the village, namely a suspicious doctor and people dropping dead from snake bites. In many ways a by-the-numbers Hammer plot. The only thing different really is the monster of the picture, which should be no real surprise given the title and even a quick glance at a poster or DVD cover. It's not a bad movie of its type, just slow-going and familiar. The cast is all good and the special effects are...interesting. There are some nice atmospheric moments as you might expect from Hammer but I do wish they had revealed the monster sooner. The last ten minutes or so is the most exciting.

A Hammer horror from '66 which may look dated by today's standards but is worth sitting through due to it's tense thrills and suspense which will keep you guessing all the way until the truth is revealed. Harry Spalding (Ray Barrett) and his wife (Jennifer Daniel) inherit a house in the middle of nowhere (well, Cornwall) after the mysterious death of his brother. Strange things start happening as the couple settle in and meet their neighbours Dr Franklyn (Noel Willman) and his daughter Anna (Jaqueline Pearce). While most people in the local village are staying quiet the inn-keeper Tom Bailey (Michael Ripper) tries to help Harry find the truth. Dr Franklyn tries to persuade Harry to sell the house and move away as people have been dying from a 'black death', Franklyn seems to be involved somehow but Harry wants to treat carefully to find out without himself becoming embroiled in events. Using the same set and filmed back to back with another Hammer classic - "Plague of Zombies" this is really a low budget gem and was a warm up act for "Rasputin: The Mad Monk". John Gilling directed this 90 minute classic which is somewhat under rated. Perhaps people see the poster/box cover and don't want to watch the film based on the make up effects of the 'reptile' however if you ignore that and sit back and just watch the film you'll be happily surprised. 7 out of 10

The Reptile starts as Harry George Spalding (Ray Barrett) & his new wife Valerie (Jennifer Daniel) inherit his brother's cottage after his sudden death put down to heart failure. The couple decide to move into the cottage near a small village in Cornwall & live there, however when they reach the village the locals are less than friendly & after trying to find out more about his brother's untimely death Harry becomes convinced that something strange is going on, the other mysterious death's, a lack of any sort of investigation & the ramblings of a local drunk known as Mad Peter (John Laurie) all point to the sinister Dr. Franklyn (Noel Willman). Harry & the local landlord Tom Bailey (Michael Ripper) discover that all the victims had bite marks on their necks made by some sort of Snake. All the clues point back to Dr. Franklyn & his innocent looking young daughter Anna (Jacqueline Pearce) but when Harry is called to see Anna he is attacked & bitten by some creature...This British production was directed by John Gilling for Hammer studios & was made at the peak of their popularity, after having filmed versions of Dracula, Frankenstein & The Mummy I guess Hammer were looking to make horror films with some different monsters in which is probably why the likes of The Gorgon (1964), The Plague of the Zombies (1966), Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966), The Witches (1966) & One Million Years B.C. (1966) were all produced by Hammer in a short space of time. While none of these film has gone on to be as famous as Hammer's Dracula & Frankenstein films they are worth watching & The Reptle is still a very good horror film, maybe a bit slow for modern audiences but if you have the patience & like a sustained build-up, a nice atmosphere & good storytelling then The Reptile delivers. The script starts off very well with the death of Edward Spalding, his brother turning up & investigating his death despite hostility from the locals with some horrible unseen menace lurking in the background that is only hinted at & a nice set of character's that go against expectation by the end. It's just a shame that the climax is weak, I mean the Reptile is defeated by breaking a window? Also the explanations behind the Reptile itself are a little weak too, why does this Reptile want to kill people anyway? For what reason? Why does Anna turn into the Reptile every so often? What triggers her transformation? Despite a few shortcomings in the plot I still liked The reptile & thought it was a solid & satisfying horror suspense film that kept my interest even though I did feel a little shortchanged at the end.Filmed back to back with Hammers The Plague of the Zombies this reused many of the same sets, cast & crew to good effect in order to save money. I certainly recognised the graveyard & local village sets, while The Plague of the Zombies is the better film both films make for a good double feature & are remarkably similar. Despite wanting to move away from Dracula the effect of the Reptile biting it's victims is two fang wounds in their neck just like a Vampire bite so I guess it's not that different. There's no real blood or gore here, the one big effect is when the Reptile creature is finally revealed towards the end & it doesn't look that bad but probably won't convince many people today. I think the big stationary Bug like eyes really kill the effect. The Reptile drips atmosphere, there's plenty of foggy nights in the small English village where this takes place.Probably shot on a budget of next to nothing The Reptile looks good & is well made, the acting is pretty good from an unfamiliar looking Hammer cast.The Reptile is a good solid horror mystery from Hammer that could have done with a little bit more plot but the first hour or so is terrific stuff, it's a just a shame when the Reptile show's up & things are ended in rather weak, lazy & abrupt fashion.

Despite the silly looking picture of the creature shown here on IMDb, "The Reptile" is a pretty good horror film. It is very creepy and the atmosphere of the film is excellent--it has a wonderful sense of foreboding. However, despite my enjoying the film, the monster, such as it is, isn't all that scary and is a bit silly...quite silly.The film begins with a man being attacked by something, but the viewer isn't sure by what. The man writhes, foams at the mouth and his skin blackens all very quickly as he dies. Apparently this is one of several such deaths that have occurred in this small and rather unwelcoming village in Cornwall, England.When the brother of the man killed at the beginning of the film comes to the village to assume ownership of his brother's tiny estate, he finds the town to be very unfriendly. No one, other than the owner of the pub, will talk with him and one neighbor in particular (Dr. Franklyn) is particularly nasty. You know something is terrible is happening there, but like the brother, getting to the heart of all this is difficult.As far as WHAT is happening goes, considering the title and photo on IMDb, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that there is some sort of deadly reptile-human hybrid that is doing the killing. The idea of this is reminiscent of the silly 1950s film, "The Alligator People" and it is a bit silly--though for a Hammer film, the costume they use isn't that bad. And that, combined with the great atmosphere, make this a film worth seeing--particularly if you are a fan of Hammer.