bkoganbing The craggy cliffs at seaside in the Cornwall section of England seem to lend themselves to stories of mystery and adventure. So much good literature seems to be set there, ditto films. This one from Hammer films is no classic, but reasonably frightening.The brother of Ray Barrett who lived in a small Cornish village is struck down with a mysterious maladies which go in the books as heart attacks. The place is so small it has no regular doctor so the regional coroner just takes it verbatim.Barrett and wife Jennifer Daniel come to stay at the late brother's house and they're not greeted with open arms by the villagers. Least of all Noel Willman who is a doctor, but not of medicine, theology rather. Willman has a frisky young daughter played by Jacqueline Pearce and a man of the east played by Marne Maitland, a mysterious fellow known only as the Malay.Think of a reptilian version of a werewolf picture and you've got what's going on in The Reptile. The plot and script are a bit fuzzy, but the usual Hammer fright fest is present here.And without either Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee.

Leofwine_draca By all rights, Hammer's quartet of cheapie pictures (DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS, RASPUTIN THE MAD MONK, PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES and this) deserved little, if any success. However the four films present some of the best of the Hammer output, four rich little horror films which blend the subtle chills with some gory shocks - and are all films which remarkably disguise their low budgets with a classy sheen. Only RASPUTIN is an average film while the other three are among my Hammer favourites. THE REPTILE is a smashing film from beginning to end, a perfect little film in every way. The structure is good (there is a deliberate slow pace, in order to build the tension) and the music is the typical Gothic dread we have come to expect from the famous studio, but it is perhaps the story which remains the most interesting aspect, a spin on the werewolf legend with a reptile monster taking the place of the wolf.The reptile could easily have been an object of ridicule (like the cardboard creations in THE MUTATIONS), but thanks to Roy Ashton's famous make up, it remains the most inventive creature in the whole Hammer horror cycle. The fangs and bug eyes may not be the most realistic things ever portrayed, but they're original and cleverly done, and perhaps the work of a genius. Once again, Hammer have come up with a fine ensemble cast who perform their roles perfectly, capturing every side of their characters. There's Jennifer Daniel as the ubiquitous blonde female victim, and Jacqueline Pearce as the lovely but quite deadly Anna, cursed to become a snake woman. Her looks are memorable whether she's in snake form or not.Ray Barrett stars as the rugged hero, appearing somewhat like a Welsh version of Rod Taylor, while Noel Willman plays his role perfectly as the stern, coldly aloof, unlikable doctor (come to think of it, Christopher Lee would have been great too), torn between protecting his daughter and his own interests. He too is an imposing screen presence, almost up there with the Cushings and Lees of the period. The supporting players are perhaps the most memorable. Michael Ripper gives solid support as a pub landlord (what else? Expect the usual dialogue such as, "they don't like strangers round here!") who offers assistance whenever he can, and his is a heartfelt performance of a genuinely kind, friendly character. John Laurie plays another eccentric person, and his cries of "corrupt and evil, corrupt and evil" are certainly similar to "we're all doomed"! With a burning mansion at the end, plenty of heroism, shocks, grave digging, memorable make up, and solid acting, THE REPTILE remains one of my Hammer favourites. It just has that polished feel to it, with gruesome activities taking place in a quite rural village, that I love. You won't be disappointed.

tomgillespie2002 When his brother is mysteriously killed by a reptilian creature that causes him to foam at the mouth and turn green, Harry Spalding (Ray Barrett) inherits his cottage and moves in with his wife Valerie (Jennifer Daniel). Shunned by the towns yokels but befriended by the brilliantly bearded innkeeper Tom (Michael Ripper), Harry becomes interested in the rumours of the townsfolk dying from the 'black death'. When they alert the local doctor, Dr. Franklyn (Noel Willman), he dismisses any responsibility, and they become puzzled by his strange behaviour towards his daughter and his creepy servant. Is the black death really to blame? Of course not, it's a big reptile-human hybrid thing!As good as Hammer's output was, they levelled it out with a lot of quickly made crap. They shot films furiously fast on a wafer-thin budget to serve as warm-ups to main features. While sometimes this produced some genuinely good stuff (The Plague of the Zombies - also directed by Gilling), often it did not. The Reptile served as an accompaniment to Rasputin The Mad Monk, and it's place as a mere quickie is evident to see. It is hammily acted (usually a good thing), badly scripted, and has some quite shockingly bad make-up. And lead Ray Barrett clearly wasn't the most gifted of actors. However, the mysterious plot that remains a puzzle right until the very end almost saves it, but this still remains a very poor effort, though it's a nice enough way to pass 90 minutes.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

jamesraeburn2003 Newly-weds Harry and Valerie Spalding (Ray Barrett and Jennifer Daniel) arrive in the remote Cornish village of Clagmoor Heath following the mysterious death of Harry's brother, George Spalding. Harry has inherited his brother's modest but charming moor side cottage and the couple plan to make it their new home. But the locals are not exactly welcoming and the local pub landlord, Tom Bailey (Michael Ripper), advises them to sell up and leave but refuses to give a reason. That night the couple are visited by local eccentric Mad Peter (John Laurie) who rants on incoherently about the corrupt and evil place Clagmoor Heath has become. In the middle of the night he reappears foaming at the mouth and his face badly swollen. He dies and Harry is told by Tom that he was a victim of a strange sickness referred to locally as "The Black Death", which has terrorised the community. Tom and Harry join forces to uncover the truth and exhume the graves of both Mad Peter and George Spalding under the cover of darkness. They learn that both men died in identical circumstances and both men bear fang marks in the neck, which suggests a snake bite. It transpires that the reclusive Dr Franklyn (Noel Willman) who lives with his beautiful daughter, Anna (Jacqueline Pearce), in the mansion across the moor are being subjected to a living nightmare at the hands of a snake cult known as "The Orang Sanctu" in the form of the man posing as their manservant (Marne Maitland). During the course of his research in Borneo, Dr Franklyn stumbled upon the secrets of this cult who are now punishing him for his interference. They have placed a curse on his daughter which means that she periodically turns into a giant Cobra snake. The manservant lures victims to the Franklyn home using Anna as bait. Harry is the next victim when a note supposedly from Anna pleading for help is pushed through his front door. He sneaks into the mansion late that night and is confronted by the hideously transformed Anna who plunges her fangs deep into his neck but things do not go quite as expected...The Reptile was shot back-to-back with Hammer's other Cornish set chiller, The Plague Of The Zombies, by director John Gilling at Bray Studios during the hot summer of 1965. Many of that film's sets were re-used and revamped accordingly. If you watch both films you will recognise the same village square set complete with the graveyard in which the zombies rose from their coffins to attack Brook Williams in that marvelous nightmare sequence. In addition, Dr Franklyn's mansion is the same one as inhabited by John Carson's evil Squire Hamilton in that film. Both Plague and The Reptile were produced as b-pics to support other Hammer A features. Plague was paired with Dracula Prince Of Darkness in January 1966 and The Reptile supported Rasputin The Mad Monk later that same year.In common with The Plague Of The Zombies, The Reptile is remarkable in that it was arguably better than the film it supported on the double bill. Despite the very obvious re-use of sets and the low budget, the Cornish atmosphere is well depicted heightening the air of the mysterious as the horror unfolds against the seemingly tranquil and peaceful ways of English village life. Performances are good all round with Jacqueline Pearce (the zombie woman in Plague Of The Zombies) of particular note as the tortured Anna Franklyn. Michael Ripper who was one of the jewels in Hammer's crown of supporting actors offers a good performance as the down-to-earth and kindly Tom Bailey. Ray Barrett and Jennifer Daniel are well cast as the naive couple who get caught up in the centre of sinister events and John Laurie gives an excellent turn as the eccentric Mad Peter. In addition, Roy Ashton's snake make up is also noteworthy.