The Reptile (1966)
Directed by John Gilling
Starring Noel Willman, Jennifer Daniel, Jacqueline Pearce, Ray Barrett, Michael Ripper

As a young horror fan, when you page through enough of the classic horror reference books, you’re bound to come across a shot of the title terror from this movie. I know I had seen it many, many times before I got to see the actual film. Each time I saw the image, my mind raced to imagine what kind of movie this could be with a monster like this, with large fangs and even larger bulging eyes! It is also one of the movies that would never live up to those high expectations that your mind had set, waiting to see this snake creature slithering about throughout the whole movie. Sadly, it doesn’t, only get to see it a few times, in short quick shots. None the less though, once you get over that and really watch the film for what it is, you’ll find a very strange story. And like most Hammer pictures, a highly enjoyable one as well as memorable.

This was the second of the Cornwall double features that Hammer made back to back, along with Plague of the Zombies (1966), with the intent to release them as double bills with Dracula Prince of Darkness (with Plague) and Rasputin The Mad Monk (with Reptile), both 1966 as well. Using some of the same cast and crew, along with the same sets, the brilliant work of Production Designer Bernard Robinson, tweaking the sets enough to make them a little different, which help keep production costs lower.

Harry Spalding, played by Ray Barrett, inherits a cottage in this small village after the his brother dies under mysterious circumstances. Once him and his wife move in, they realize something definitely weird is going on, with all leads pointing to the large mansion near them. Dr. Franklyn and his daughter Anna live in the large house, along with a dark and strange cloud of mystery hanging over them. Franklyn is played by Noel Willman, who had appeared in Hammer’s Kiss of the Vampire (1963), gives us another subtle performance, one of a man tortured by his past, something to do with his daughter. Also from Kiss is Jennifer Daniels, who plays the wife of Spalding who is thrown into this bizarre tale. Anna is played by Jacqueline Pearce, returning from The Plague of the Zombies, as the undead Alice, with her wide starring eyes and exotic look, she fits perfectly in the role. We know there is inner battle going on between Anna and her father, some underlying weight hovering over them. Adding to this the fact, there is some sort of creature running about killing people. We know Dr. Franklyn knows SOMETHING about what is going on, but what exactly is it? The scene where Anna is playing the sitar, it almost seems as though she’s trying to seduce her own father, not only leaving their visitors a little uneasy, but also us viewers as well.

This one might known more for the monster than the actual film, since it’s not up to their usual standards, but I think that it is still a fine representation of Hammer. Trying to do something much different than the normal monsters they tended to create or remake, writer John Elder (pen name of Hammer producer Anthony Hinds) gives us not only an original monster but a decent story as well. With director John Gilling behind the camera, they are still able to give the audience a great looking and captivating story. Gilling brings in the tension and the jump scares that are quick, but still effective. One cannot walk away from this film and claim they “seen it all before”.

Major kudos for that goes out to Roy Ashton, the man who created the makeup for this creature. Sure, in some of the close up shots of the makeup (mainly in the photos), you can see where it begins and ends and is not well blended very well. But while in the film, it works well enough and packs quite a punch when you first see it. On a sad note, this would be Aston’s last film with Hammer.

I would definitely say this is a requirement of any up and coming student of Hammer Films, but then again, I would probably say that with most of their titles! Still, it is a lot of fun, some good scares, a great creature, AND you get to see Michael Ripper as a bar keeper! What more could you ask for in a picture from the Studio that Dripped Blood!