La femme reptile

A young couple inherits the husband's cottage in Cornwall, England and soon find themselves confronting a mysterious, unknown serial killer that has been murdering villagers. That's the basic premise of THE REPTILE and the only drawback is that nothing much is explained until the final reel--but along the way it's an absorbing mystery of the kind that Hammer does so well with plenty of chills to keep you watching until the denouement.

It's all done up in the best kind of British color cinematography with sets that look substantial enough and appropriate costumes for the period. Under John Gilling's direction the actors go through their paces in realistic fashion. Noel Willman is especially sinister as Dr. Franklyn while Ray Barrett and Jennifer Daniel play the troubled young couple with conviction. Barrett is especially good in the leading role and Michael Ripper does a fine character role as the tavern owner who helps them.

Summing up: an efficient chiller from Hammer, mysterious and absorbing from beginning to end.

Made back-to-back with Plague of the Zombies, and using many of the locations, the same director, and some of the cast from that film, The Reptile isn't quite as good as Hammer's only zombie movie, but is still splendid fun nonetheless.

Ray Barrett plays Harry Spalding, an ex-soldier who moves to Cornwall with his wife Valerie (Jennifer Daniel), after he inherits a country cottage from his recently deceased brother.

Unfortunately, the Spaldings' new life in the West country is far from idyllic: the locals are less than friendly (with the exception of Tom Bailey, the pub landlord, played by Hammer regular Michael Ripper); their new neighbours—Dr. Franklyn (Noel Willman), his beautiful daughter Anna, and their manservant—are more than a little creepy; and some kind of extremely venomous creature is on the loose and claiming victims right, left and centre.

Don't expect too much in the way of blood and boobs in this offering from Hammer: there is very little of both. What you do get, however, is a decent cast giving some fine performances (Michael Ripper, in particular, gets a chance to shine), some suitably atmospheric direction from John Gilling, and a memorable monster which, despite being kinda silly looking, is still pretty freaky.

And that's good enough for me!

Ray Barrett and Jennifer Daniel inherit a small cottage in Cornwall. Barrett's brother died under mysterious circumstances, and the new couple soon see that people are not very friendly in the country. John Gilling made this the same time he directed Plague of the Zombies. And although that would be the superior of the two films, The Reptile is nonetheless another Hammer horror picture that captures a moody atmosphere filled with distrust and secrets, a talented acting troupe(particularly with regard to the character actors like John Laurie and Michael Ripper), an effective, thought-provoking(though highly implausible) script, good, solid direction, and some of the most credible settings and costumes about. Noel Willman plays a doctor of theology with a daughter that somehow have been involved with a cult of snake people or worshipers or something like that. He has a manservant who treats him as an inferior, played rather deftly by Marne Maitland. The film opens with one of those great Hammer openings as Barret's brother(Played by none other than Harold Pinter) - note in hand - comes running into this palatial English house - only to be attacked with what looks like a human snake. OK, the make-up isn't much to talk about, and if the movie wasn't called The Reptile and snakes were not mentioned - I might have thought it was a human mole too. But special effects or their lack of aside, Gilling does a fine job bringing this material to the screen and creating tense scenes as we see this couple slowly find out the truth. The biggest joy for me to behold was the presence of Michael Ripper again giving one of his solid, earthy performances as an inn keeper who decides to buck the village trend and cooperate with the new couple by telling them what he knows. Ripper has a much bigger role than many of his Hammer films allowed, and I thought he did a superb job creating a caring, frightened man trying to make a go of things in the country. In fact all of the performers give nice, solid performances. I heartily recommend The Reptile if you are a fan of Hammer and its horror film formula. This one keeps the formula in tact and works - really despite an absurd story that Gilling and company manage to pull off in spite of itself.

This film is one of the best period horror films of it's day. The costumes and sets are lavish and the acting is notable. The 'Reptile' itself is hinted at but not seen for most of the film, building suspense. It is a shame that the video box shows what the Reptile looks like, lessening the shock when you see it on the screen. The make up was very ahead of its time, much more realistic than other films of its day. The only problem about the film is that it plays like a mystery, but we already know what is going on. People die after getting on the neck. No one knows who or what is doing the killing. A good guess on our part would be, the Reptile. By the time the players figure that out, we have already have figured out who is the Reptile. The film is a little low on terror and gore for a Hammer film, but writing and effects more than make up for it. Plus the film boasts one of the best 'dead body POV shots' ever filmed. A must for any Hammer fan!

Harry and Valerie Spalding (Ray Barrett and Jennifer Daniel) move in to a quaint little cottage in a small village. The cottage used to belong to Ray's brother, before his untimely demise. It seems he died from "heart failure", but as time goes by, a far more insidious cause arises.

Enter Dr. Franklyn and his beautiful daughter, Anna (Jacqueline Pearce). What's really going on in that big, spooky old house of theirs?

THE REPTILE is a well-made Gothic horror film. It takes the basic "monster movie" idea, and adds a good deal of mystery and suspense. A classic Hammer film with loads of heavy atmosphere.

Special mention for the makeup department. A lot of time and effort went into this practical creation. In the age of CGI, such artistic genius seems to have been lost...