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THE REPTILE (1966)

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THE REPTILE (1966)
THE REPTILE (1966)
THE REPTILE (1966) Review

Who?
Director: John Gilling
Producer: Anthony Nelson Keys
Screenplay: John Elder
Cast: Noel Willman, Ray Barrett, Jacqueline Pearce, Jennifer Daniel, Marne Maitland, David Barron, John Laurie, Michael Ripper, Charles Lloyd Pack, Harold Goldblatt, George Woodbridge

How?

The Reptile was first announced as a project by Hammer in 1963, but was rejected by their then backers Universal. It reappeared the following year, but it wasn't until 1965 that the film actually got underway, as part of Hammer's two double-bills for 1966 - The Reptile was to be shot back-to-back with Plague of the Zombies using the same sets, and was to be released with Rasputin the Mad Monk. Reptile and Plague became known as Hammer's two Cornish films. The screenplay was by Anthony Hinds, as 'John Elder', and John Gilling, who had worked on and off for Hammer since the late 1940s, was hired to direct. Shooting took place using the Plague sets on Bray Studios' backlot, as well as on location in Surrey (for the 'Cornish 'moors), and the exterior of Oakley Court (the same house as used in Plague). Michael Ripper and Jacqueline Pearce carried on from Plague, and were joined by Noel Willman and Jennifer Daniel from Kiss of the Vampire (1963), as well as Hammer veteran Marne Maitland.

What?
Following the sudden death of his brother Charles in a small Cornish village Harry Spalding (Barrett) and his wife Valerie (Daniel) arrive to take up residence in his vacant cottage. Finding the cottage ransacked, the villagers surly, and after a dire warning from the local tramp Mad Peter (Laurie), they soon discover that Charles' death was suspicious and was only one of many such strange deaths in the village. Befriending the local publican Tom (Ripper), Harry and he exhume Harry's brother and find him black and swollen, with a strange bite mark on the body, which Tom recognises as being that of a snake. Deciding to investigate further they discover the trail leads to the local manor house, where a Dr Franklyn (Willman) and his daughter Anna (Pearce) now live, after having returned from exploring South-East Asia. Living with them is a strange character, Malay, who seems to hold some power over the  couple. Soon Harry discovers that the house harbours a dark violent secret, that something evil stalks the moors at night, and that both he and Valerie are now in danger as they seek to uncover just what it is.

So?
The Reptile is one of those films that just epitomises for  many people the essence of a 'Hammer horror' - strange goings-on in a tranquil country setting, misty moors, surly yokels, an evil monster. The Reptile has all this in spades and more.  And yet, it's not a 'typical' Hammer horror - this was one of the few times that Hammer dabbled with Asian mythology in their creation of a monster and it's all the more interesting for it. Anthony Hinds' screenplay manages to meld this mythology into a bucolic Cornish environment wonderfully - the strangeness of it only helping to bring out the 'strangeness' of the rural setting. - those deserted moors really are creepy, even without a critter on the loose! John Gilling was a skilled (if volatile!) writer and director, who had written and/or directed a number of  solid past Hammer pictures, such  as Shadow of the Cat (1961), Pirates of Blood River  (1962) and The Scarlet Blade (1963). The 'Cornish couple' were his first real 'monster' films, however, but he took to it like a duck to water and created some genuinely atmospheric pictures in both The Reptile and Plague, making good use of the tranquil settings to bring out the violent 'alienness' of what has intruded upon them. Whilst perhaps The Reptile is a bit slow at times, and the ending a little rushed, there are enough interesting characters and good set-pieces to keep you interested.

Whilst the lead actors make a solid job of their characters in the film, particularly Noel Willman as the tormented father, it is the supporting cast that really carry the show here. Hammer legend Michael Ripper has a more substantial role than usual as Tom the publican and convinces as a frightened but determined to get to the root of the evil in the village. John Laurie is great fun as Mad Peter, hamming it up for all he's worth - but you do expect a cry at any moment of 'Doomed, doomed, we're all doomed' à la Dad's Army! And Marne Maitland is just plain evil as he sedately and callously oversees the designated punishment. Pearce, while indeed creating a haunting character in Anna and a memorable creature, is not really given enough to do, both as Anna (to make her a really rounded sympathetic character) and as the creature  (to the film's detriment). The real star of the The Reptile, however, is Roy Ashton for his makeup effects. Whilst the creature is revealed pretty early on, and the publicity posters took any surprise away, he really did create something quite unique, that still has the power to unnerve in this age of CGI, and which has certainly given a few kids an uneasy night over the years. Sadly, this was to be Ashton's last formal film for Hammer, but what a creature to go out on!

I have a real affection for both John Gilling's Cornish films (although Plague of the Zombies is the better of the two), and even though The Reptile was second to Rasputin in its double-bill I know which of those two I'd prefer to see. Low budget as it is, it's just a fun monster movie. Yes, it has weaknesses galore - it drags a little, the plot's a bit ropey, the creature seems to catch people too easily in that tight dress, and has no other purpose than to go around biting people on the necks, and is killed off pretty easily in the end, and...But, whatever, it's just fun! Not to mention it has one of the greatest methods of deceasing in a Hammer film - how can you fail to appreciate foaming and suppurating bites all accompanied by major facial swelling and blackening! Especially if they're inflicted on John 'Doomed' Laurie. The censors hated the film, calling it 'nasty rubbish', and insisted on toning down elements in the script. Thankfully, they were not able to inflict too much damage on this creepy, if flawed, little gem from Hammer. Unfortunately, Hammer didn't make too many of these 'English country village beset by Evil' films (despite impressions to the contrary). More's the pity. Goodness knows what else they might have come up with!

 The Reptile
(1966) on IMDb
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