La femme reptile

After the mysterious death of his brother, Harry Spalding and his wife Valerie move to the Cornwall Cottage of that of their inherited house. The locals turn a cold shoulder, but the local bar owner Tom greets them. Weird things are going on and just like his brother, a local man dies in the same fashion. Maybe it has something to do with their odd neighbour Dr. Franklyn and his daughter Anna. Who before this had happened, asked the couple to sell and leave this place.

Capable work all round, but especially from the versatile cast makes this one very solid Hammer chiller. Like many of the reviewers on here have already mentioned, it was filmed back to back with the same director's "Plague of the Zombies" (which I've yet to see). It's typical Hammer fluff with a towering atmosphere of eerie intrigue, a well-renown earth shaking score, engulfed by fluid camera-work and an extremely offbeat premise. Sounds like a real treat indeed. But something stops it from being one of Hammer's greater achievements. It gets off to a slow start, but doesn't really hit momentum until the film's final 15 minutes. There's nothing wrong with that as the script is well defined and there's detailed characterisations, but it seems to suggest more than it actually delivers. The story's angle builds up the mystery effectively enough and drums up a bunch of suspense with some stinging strikes in a viper pace. The back-story of the snake people could have been explored a little further and motivation behind the attacks were quite hazy. But in all, where it counts it surely did entertain. The make-up effects of the creature weren't too crash hot, but the aftermath of the tenacious attacks left some unpleasant visuals. Some mouth foaming goodness. A strong period setting enforces Hammer great eye for detail and perfection in creating the times. The isolated and uneasy air of the countryside sprawls off the screen. The cast were all very good and lifted from the ordinary. Michael Ripper really does make the most and is extremely potent when on screen. Ray Barrett and the gorgeous Jennifer Daniel were convincing. Marne Maitland is profoundly shifty in a pinpoint turn as The Malay.

A decent effort by Hammer studios.

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.

The Reptile is famous for the fact that it utilises the same sets as the brilliant 'Plague of the Zombies', and as such; you would expect the rest of the film not to be up to Hammer's usual standards. This couldn't be further from the truth! While this may not be Hammer's best work, all the things that us fans have come to expect from this great studio are present, along with a few other little surprises. The film follows a man and his wife who move to a small village to live in the cottage that the man's brother left him. The brother died in mysterious circumstances...and our hero makes it his business to find out why. This plot is good enough, but it's the other one that really sparks the interest. The film introduces a brand new monster - the Snake Woman! Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster etc are all fine; but we've seen them all before. I have a lot of respect for this film just due to the fact that it's got something different on offer. The Snake Woman is an unfortunate victim of a curse...and she stalks the local population on the moors at night.

The film features a lot of suspense, and it pretty much runs throughout the entire run time. We are always on tender hooks to uncover the mystery behind the mystifying Snake Woman, and this is helped by the way that the plot continues to deal out cards, without telling the audience exactly what is going on until the end. The only real problem with the film is that the mythology never really explained in any great detail...the film, having a new monster at it's centre, would have benefited greatly from delving a little more into how she came about. This film is notable for Hammer fans because of the fact that the studio's favourite co-star, Michael Ripper, has got himself a starring role! This actor has done so much for Hammer films, and it's good to see him in a larger role for a change. The film benefits from the traditional Hammer style, including both lavish sets and a sense of goodwill that runs throughout. The film's climax is really good, as it provides an answer to both the plots running during the film, and even manages a little poetic justice! On the whole - don't miss this one. It may not be Hammer's best - or most famous - but I'm already looking forward to seeing it again!

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.