The Reptile [DVD] [1966] [US Import]

Well, now that time has passed, people can rediscover this classy Hammer tale. The Reptile (like the old grade C class The Alligator People) rather lets the cat out of the bag as soon as the title is flashed. However, stick with the tale and enjoy
Hammer's gorgeous lensing, and excellent location work. Directed by John Gilling (who directed Lee in Hammer's Pirated of Blood River and a pairing of Lee and Cushing in The Gorgon - two other overlook great films) and written by Anthony Hinds, who pens such other stylish Hammer classics (The Brides of Dracula, the Curse of the Werewolf, Kiss of the Vampire), The Reptile is a moody film. Ray Barrett and Jennifer Daniel play Harry George Spalding and his wife Valerie, a young couple who inherits the husband's cottage in Cornwall, England after his uncle's mysterious death. Michael Ripper, the perpetual also ran of Horror, does a fine character role as the tavern owner who helps them. No sooner than they unpack, they learn a serial killer has been murdering villagers and likely killed Harry's uncle. The film suffers from the obvious, we know there is a Reptile, so the impact is blunted from the start.

Shot back-to-back with the Plague of the Zombies, if you are familiar with one film, and watch the other, you will recognise the same village for the shoot. It builds suspense in an understated fashion, creating really spooky atmosphere. I think this leisurely pace causing some to dismiss this worthwhile film, while those with a more discerning taste will enjoy the non-hysterical approach.

When a man is mysteriously found dead his brother and his new wife come to live in his old house. They find that the town is very stange and there are whole load of other mysterious deaths, just like the mans brothers'. Along with the owner of the local pub, he is determined to find out the cause.

The acting in this film is pretty good all round really. Noel Willman is especially sinister (and rather scary) as Dr. Franklyn, while Ray Barrett and Jennifer Daniel play the troubled young couple who live in the cottage on the moor.

Overall this brilliantly directed film, while not as scary as some others in the Hammer House Of Horrors series is still very entertaining, and will appeal to horror fans and film fans alike. Definately a film to watch at night with the lights turned off.

"The Reptile" is about a man who inherits his brother's cottage, stuck up on the Cornish moors, after his brother is mysteriously killed in the village. He arrives there with his young bride to take possession of the cottage, and also to uncover the truth about his brother's death. There he comes up against a wall of silence and suspicion from villagers, who are plainly living in fear against some unknown terror that is killing people in their midst. The waters are muddied further by an enigmatic doctor, newly back from his travels in the Far East, who exerts a chilling possessiveness over his strange and beautiful daughter.

This is a very atmospheric little number, with strange voices being heard out on the moors, and people dropping dead in foaming fits. John Laurie puts in an exuberant turn as the village idiot, and Michael Ripper, a veteran Hammer actor, is good as an old sea-dog turned publican. The unique, strangely-supernatural feel of rural Cornwall is brought effectively to life in this film.