The Reptile (1966)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

John Gilling

Writer:

Anthony Hinds (writer)

Release Date:

6 April 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Half woman - half snake!

Plot:

When his brother Charles Spalding (David Baron) mysteriously dies, Harry Spalding (Ray Barrett) and...

Plot Keywords:

Village | Snake | Father Daughter Relationship | Curse | Death

Cast

Noel Willman	...	Dr. Franklyn
Jennifer Daniel	...	Valerie Spalding
Ray Barrett	...	Harry George Spalding
Jacqueline Pearce	...	Anna Franklyn
Michael Ripper	...	Tom Bailey
John Laurie	...	Mad Peter
Marne Maitland	...	The Malay
David Baron	...	Charles Edward Spalding
Charles Lloyd Pack	...	The Vicar
Harold Goldblatt	...	The Solicitor
George Woodbridge	...	Old Garnsey

Runtime:

Germany:86 min | USA:90 min | UK:91 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1966) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

Filmed back-to-back with The Plague of the Zombies (1966), reusing many of the same sets, most noticeably the main village set on the backlot at Bray Studios.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Quatermass and the Pit (1967)

Reasonable Hammer Movie

When his brother Charles Spalding (David Baron) mysteriously dies, Harry Spalding (Ray Barrett) and his wife Valerie (Jennifer Daniel) decide to move to the inherited cottage in a small village in the country. They are coldly received by the locals, with the exception of the bartender and owner of a pub Tom Bailey (Michael Ripper), who welcome them. His weird neighbor Dr. Franklyn (Noel Willman), who lives with his beautiful daughter Anna (Jacqueline Pearce), tries to persuade them to sell the house and leave the place, but the couple decides to stay. Harry and Valerie find that the locals are being killed by some snake and they feel threatened. When Anna asks for help and they trespass Dr. Franklyn's house, they find the horrible truth hidden in the place.

I have grownup watching Hammer horror movies in the movie theaters, mainly when I was a teenager. Therefore, Hammer movies have been and are very pleasant for me. "The Reptile" is only reasonable: the atmosphere is great, the snake-woman Jacqueline Pearce is really a very beautiful woman and the suspenseful story, although having many flaws and a weak conclusion, is attractive. The shape of snake woman recalls 1954 Universal's "Creature from the Black Lagoon". My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Serpente" ("The Serpent")