Film Review
The Reptile is easily one of
Hammer's better horror offerings, in spite of the fact that it was
made on a shoestring budget, experienced a troubled production and had
a luke-warm reception on its original release. A combination of
judicious lighting, ingenious camerawork and sharp editing transform
what could have been a mediocre monster movie into a highly atmospheric
and profoundly unsettling film. John Gilling's direction is
restrained but very effective and ekes every last drop of menace and
creepiness from the Gothic horror tale that it has to tell.
To reduce costs,
The Reptile
was made back-to-back with
The Plague of the Zombies
(1966), a film (also directed by Gilling) that shares not just its sets
and locations but also many of its plot elements and its underlying
anti-colonialist, anti-capitalist themes. Two of the supporting actors
in the zombie film make a reappearance in
The Reptile, having more
substantial roles - Michael Ripper (a Hammer stalwart) and Jacqueline
Pearce, who would later find fame as Servalan in the BBC television
series
Blake's Seven.
There are no big name actors in this film (which was made as the B
movie accompaniment to
Rasputin: The Mad Monk), but
that does not diminish its appeal one iota.
One of the many problems that presented director John Gilling was the
screenplay. He was so unimpressed with Anthony Hinds' script that
he found himself re-writing it during the shooting of the film.
There were also difficulties with the make-up of the monster and
Jacqueline Pearce had to be called back so that some of her scenes (in
which she played the titular reptile) could be re-shot. None of
these production nightmares is apparent in the end result, which is
regarded by many as one of the most atmospheric and compelling of
British horror films. Unlike much of Hammer's gore-drenched
horror output,
The Reptile is
a film that has dated well and still manages to chill the blood.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
On the death of his brother, Harry Spalding and his wife Valerie elect
to move into his cottage, in a remote Cornish village. They
receive a cold welcome from the locals and they soon discover
why. Harry's brother is the latest victim of a strange illness,
known locally as the Black Death. Harry ignores the advice of the
friendly publican Tom and decides to stay. A short time later,
Valerie is visited by a young woman, Anna, the daughter of Dr Franklyn,
a reclusive man who has devoted his life to the study of Eastern
mysticism. Valerie accept's Anna's invitation to dine with the
Franklyns at their grand house, but during the evening she and Harry
are perturbed by the cruel way in which Dr Franklyn treats his
daughter. Concerned that Anna is in danger, Harry decides to
break into the house one evening and find out more about the mysterious
Dr Franklyn. As he explores the darkened passageways he is
suddenly attacked by a man-like creature with a reptilian face.
Bitten on the neck by the monster, Harry manages to stagger back to his
cottage. Is he about to suffer the same fate as his brother...?
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.