After the strange death of his brother, a man and his wife relocate to a remote cottage he's inherited in Cornwall. Weird goings on with the locals, a neighbor, and mysterious deaths in the area seem to be linked to a bizarre creature.One of Hammer's finer, if not campier (by today's standards), efforts, "The Reptile" is immensely enjoyable on the level of pure atmosphere alone. Like most of Hammer's most memorable pictures, the film weaves a tapestry of British atmospherics—the rural English countryside, the quaint cottage, and the ominous forests take center stage here. There is something spellbinding about these films in the way that they fashion their own atmospheric universes, and "The Reptile" is a stellar example of it done extremely well.The score here fantastic and there are some well-handled attack scenes with the titular monster; the film is also surprisingly suspenseful and is able to ratchet the tension over the first seventy or so minutes. Things don't really propel steadfastly until the last fifteen to twenty minutes, but there is plenty of atmosphere and tension preceding it that makes the payoff just good enough. The film's final scene is really fantastic, and the special effects on the monster are commendable by today's standards, despite how absurd the entire thing may really be. The acting also holds up surprisingly well, with Ray Barrett as the leading man and Jennifer Daniel as his inquisitive wife. Marne Maitland is subtly sinister as The Malay, and lends the film an additional element of perturbation.Overall, "The Reptile" is a fun, atmospheric romp through the cold-blooded monster-land of the English countryside. It is most definitely dated in many ways, though it retains enough atmosphere and suspense to be enjoyable today, no matter how you feel about a half-woman half-snake lurking about the moors. Worthwhile for fans of Hammer as well as anyone who likes a good old fashioned monster movie with a British twist. 7/10.

With having picked up the DVD/Blu-Ray presentation by Studio Canal of John Gilling's Hammer Horror title The Mummy's Shroud a week earlier,I was thrilled to discover on Amazon,that studio Canal had also brought out John Gilling's companion movie to the very good Hammer Horror Plague of the Zombies,which led to me excitingly getting ready to witness the reptile shed its skin for the first time.The plot:Learning of his brother's sudden death,Harry Spalding and his wife Valerie decide to visit a small town in Cornwall called Clagmoor Heath,so that they can attend Charles Edward Spalding's funeral.Preparing to set off,Harry and Valerie are given the news that Charles had left them a cottage based in the village in his will,which leads to the Spalding's deciding that they may spend more time in Clagmoor Heath than they originally expected.Being interested in finding out the cause of his brother's sudden death,Harry decides to ask the locals about Charles the moment that the cart wheels into town.Hoping to receive a friendly welcome,the Spalding's are instead caught by surprise when the locals, (with the exception of a pub land lord called Tom Bailey) give them the cold shoulder,and tell them to mind their own business.Getting ready to go asleep after their less then joyful day of attending Charles funeral,and also being treated like "outsiders" by the locals,the Spalding's suddenly hear a loud knock at the door.Rushing into their living room,the Spalding's are taken aback by a rambling man called Mad Peter.Calming down,Peter begins to tell the Spalding's that he fears Charles demise may be connected to a number of strange deaths that have recently taken place in the village.As he begins to go into detail about his suspicions,the Spalding's and Peter hear a haunting, music sound coming from an unknown part of the village.Jumping to his feet,Peter runs out of the Spalding's cottage,so that he is safely at home before "it" appears.Hours later:Awoken by a loud bashing sound against their windows,the Spalding's are met by the dying sight of Mad Peter,who along with foaming at the mouth,is also covered in weird,vicious bite marks…View on the film:Before getting to the film itself,I have to mention that along with giving the title a clear soundtrack and also allowing the full details of the actor's faces to be fully displayed,Studio Canal make sure in their excellent new transfer that the movie's distinctive appearance is placed right at the centre,in all of its atmospheric glory.Despite being given "limited" options in the production of the movie due to the studio forcing him to re-use sets from Plague of the Zombies,and also having to deal with a pretty small budget, (which led to Hammer studios actually putting some more cash into the production after it had wrapped for re-shoots!,due to being unhappy with the makeup effects) director John Gilling and cinematography Arthur Grant cover the film in an extraordinary,atmospheric wet mist,which with giving the setting a "fresh" wet appearance,also creates a feeling of something deadly slithering around in the darken corners of the movie.Backed by a fantastically haunting,nerve twitching score from Don Banks, (which also features what is perhaps the sitar's debut in a Horror movie score)Gilling and Grant give the Horror contained within the movie a strong,mystical mood,with Gilling and Grant building a strong sense that the horror which is unfolding across the village is rooted in rituals and is not a "Horror" that any of the character's can get a full grasp on.Trimed down from its original,bigger budget intension of being called "The Curse of the Reptiles",the screenplay by Anthony Hinds thankfully goes in an extremely distinctive direction,which allows for the story to shine,even in its edited form.Initially making the movie's appearance to be a Horror Mystery,due to Hinds having Harry Spalding, (played by a determined Ray Barrett) peel one clue away after another,Hines gradually reveals the movie to in fact be a chameleon,by brilliantly unleashing a terrific riff on the Werewolf mythology/legend,which along with giving the Horror sections a real bite,also cast's "the monster" in an unexpectedly tragic light,as the reptile slithers across the screen for the final time.

The Reptile starts as Harry George Spalding (Ray Barrett) & his new wife Valerie (Jennifer Daniel) inherit his brother's cottage after his sudden death put down to heart failure. The couple decide to move into the cottage near a small village in Cornwall & live there, however when they reach the village the locals are less than friendly & after trying to find out more about his brother's untimely death Harry becomes convinced that something strange is going on, the other mysterious death's, a lack of any sort of investigation & the ramblings of a local drunk known as Mad Peter (John Laurie) all point to the sinister Dr. Franklyn (Noel Willman). Harry & the local landlord Tom Bailey (Michael Ripper) discover that all the victims had bite marks on their necks made by some sort of Snake. All the clues point back to Dr. Franklyn & his innocent looking young daughter Anna (Jacqueline Pearce) but when Harry is called to see Anna he is attacked & bitten by some creature...This British production was directed by John Gilling for Hammer studios & was made at the peak of their popularity, after having filmed versions of Dracula, Frankenstein & The Mummy I guess Hammer were looking to make horror films with some different monsters in which is probably why the likes of The Gorgon (1964), The Plague of the Zombies (1966), Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966), The Witches (1966) & One Million Years B.C. (1966) were all produced by Hammer in a short space of time. While none of these film has gone on to be as famous as Hammer's Dracula & Frankenstein films they are worth watching & The Reptle is still a very good horror film, maybe a bit slow for modern audiences but if you have the patience & like a sustained build-up, a nice atmosphere & good storytelling then The Reptile delivers. The script starts off very well with the death of Edward Spalding, his brother turning up & investigating his death despite hostility from the locals with some horrible unseen menace lurking in the background that is only hinted at & a nice set of character's that go against expectation by the end. It's just a shame that the climax is weak, I mean the Reptile is defeated by breaking a window? Also the explanations behind the Reptile itself are a little weak too, why does this Reptile want to kill people anyway? For what reason? Why does Anna turn into the Reptile every so often? What triggers her transformation? Despite a few shortcomings in the plot I still liked The reptile & thought it was a solid & satisfying horror suspense film that kept my interest even though I did feel a little shortchanged at the end.Filmed back to back with Hammers The Plague of the Zombies this reused many of the same sets, cast & crew to good effect in order to save money. I certainly recognised the graveyard & local village sets, while The Plague of the Zombies is the better film both films make for a good double feature & are remarkably similar. Despite wanting to move away from Dracula the effect of the Reptile biting it's victims is two fang wounds in their neck just like a Vampire bite so I guess it's not that different. There's no real blood or gore here, the one big effect is when the Reptile creature is finally revealed towards the end & it doesn't look that bad but probably won't convince many people today. I think the big stationary Bug like eyes really kill the effect. The Reptile drips atmosphere, there's plenty of foggy nights in the small English village where this takes place.Probably shot on a budget of next to nothing The Reptile looks good & is well made, the acting is pretty good from an unfamiliar looking Hammer cast.The Reptile is a good solid horror mystery from Hammer that could have done with a little bit more plot but the first hour or so is terrific stuff, it's a just a shame when the Reptile show's up & things are ended in rather weak, lazy & abrupt fashion.

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.