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Reptilicus

Reptilicus

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Actually not a bad movie!
Review: If your a fan of the legendary godzilla films or giant monster films I reccommend this to you. When Danish mining engineers discover the tail of a huge prehistoric monster deep in the arctic ice, they ship it to Copenhagen for research. There, Professor Martens keeps the tail frozen in a large refrigerated room. But someone leaves the door open, and the tail starts to thaw... and grow! In time, it spawns an entire monster, kills a lab assistant and escapes. Reptilicus soon terrorizes Copenhagen in a grisly rampage. General Grayson and the army hunt down only to discover that their explosives will creat hundreds of new creatures! Terror and suspense build to a spine-tingling climax in this vintage sci-fi classic...one of the most exciting horror films of all time. Those were not my word but the description given from the movie itself. Maybe not the greatest , not even close , but a fun to watch!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Ed Wood, eat your HEART out!
Review: Imagine what an Ed Wood movie would be like if he had a large budget and government support, including shutting down a major city and the used of the Armed Forces. Yes - THIS is what you'd get!

Sid Pink got his ticket punched when he made "Angry Red Planet", which single-handedly saved AIP's bacon. Sid travelled to Europe looking for distributors for "Angry Red Planet", and met Danish film wheeler-dealer Henrik Sandberg, who invited him to Copenhagen, and the rest is history. His AIP bosses gave him the go-ahead for a monster pic that would feature the "beauties of the Danish countryside". Pink also had permission to block off Copengahen's main square whenever he wanted, plus all the unpaid extras he could use. (In one scene, a local bicyle club rides their cycles off of a raising drawbridge for no other reason that it would look neat!) Even the Danish Army and Navy were at Pink's disposal: tanks, cannons, and a cutter throwing live depth charges.

Just to keep interest up, a Danish-language version was filmed at the same time as the English. Ann Smyner, a Danish actress, got top billing but SHE looks ridiculous in a jaw-dropping array of "country girl"-style dresses that make Mary Ann look like Ginger. Mimi Heinrich, another Danish ingenue, comes across MUCH better. Carl Ottosen, a Dane whose English was about as good as my Uzbek, plays the American general who takes over the Danish military (obviously HE got dubbed in). The entire cast seems to have learned their lines phonetically, giving them the aspect of having been recently thwacked in their collective heads by a two-by-four. But all this pales when the marionette "Reptilicus" comes into it's own. Only "The Giant Claw" can boast of a sillier-looking monster - this thing is downright pit-i-ful.

And yet - how can anyone resist this glorious mess? An entire scene devoted to a local singer belting out "Tivoli Nights" as the monster approaches the city, not as filler, but because Pink was so much in love with Copenhagen! A dirt-dumb janitor who decides to stick his arm in an aquarium just to see if that eel really *is* electric (and yup, it is....).

You can catch scenes of this astonishing movie in old episodes of "Beverly Hillbillies" and "The Monkees", among others. In it's way, it came to symbolize the entire zeitgeist of 60s drive-in/cheapo monster movies, but I assure you, it wasn't for lack of money or logistical support. This one must stand as perhaps the purest example of NO TALENT.

Riff away!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: No Godzilla, but fun enough...
Review: It is hard to live in Godzilla's shadow (now there's a scary thought...) and Reptilicus pales the moment you compare it to Japan's favorite city stomper.

The film begins with a crew drilling core samples in Denmark, when they discover blood and flesh on the drill. They soon discover the tail of a large fossil reptile buried in ice for millions of years. Of course, the scientists dig it up and place it in a freezer.

A scientist falls asleep one night and leaves the freezer door open, and the tail thaws out. They soon learn that it has been healing and regenerating itself. And, in typical monster movie fashion, they decide to try and grow it further, leading to the eventual birth of Reptilicus, a long serpantine-like beast with tiny wings and feet.

Reptilicus attacks Denmark and trashes homes in the usual monster movie fashion. The effects here are either ok or horrible depending on the scene. At times, the monster looks like a cheep toy and the "green slime" that he spits out is visually hysterical (but still not nearly as funny as the "paper-doll-like" cut and paste shot of a man being eaten).

Unlike the Asian movies that use hundreds of miniture tanks and jets, this film has great stock footage of tanks, ships and depth charges which make up for some of the poor monster shots.

This early 60's monster flick was shot and produced in Denmark, the last place you'd expect to find a film like this. There is little dubbing, as the film was mostly shot in english, so watching people speak is not nearl as funny as the Asian movies.

The sets look like an IKEA showroom, and nearly everybody is named Sven, Petersen or Hendersen. There is a wealth of b-roll footage of Copenhagen and Tivoli (from the 60's that is) providing a nice tour through Denmark. The soundtrack itself is also quite good, right down to a jazzy little number, "Tivoli Nights," in which you'd expect to see a young Sean Connery stroll in as 007.

If you know the genre, then you will enjoy the movie. Everyone else, well, you're on your own.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: reptilicus
Review: Oh well.

Living in the ruins of once was a frosty, nordic version of Plesentwille, I may be quite inhabil to give a truthfully review about the dokosoap of CPHdestruktion.

The sad facts is, this film is the very reason why danish films forever after is doomed to dwell among the chruel shaddows of realism!

Cant understand why Reptillicus failed to hit blockbusterlevel: Exellent acting ( If you could understand the exact dialog and level of voices your feet would crumble), super special effects ( if you blink very fast you almost can't see that the monster is manuvered around the streets on top of a constructionvagon!) and even SINGALONG-SONGS!!! Whoa! This was a strict demand from Scala studio ( a former major danish moviestudio who amazeing enough produced the movie ) cause in 1940-70 there had to be songs in EVERY danish film.
The "funny-carakter" in the movie is, belive it or not, the most fameos danish comedian at that time, and they had to put him in the movie, horrorfilm og not!
The film flopped totally, and at Scalastudio you litterelly speaking got fired to mention this film! True!

But anyway, patriot or not, I love this silly film. Just the scene from "Langebro" ( name of the bridge that goes up ) is a masterpice. Lots of totally unpripered ekstras ( not stuntmen, mind you!) is going faceforward down the icy wather, no safty just do it. Yep, welcome to the nonexisting stuntschool of Denmark!

So dont mind my lousy spelling, just run to get it, your view of monsterfilms will never be the same again!
Patrick Leis

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Now if they'll just reprint the novelization
Review: Once upon a time Reptilicus , Gorgo , and Konga had paperback novelizations.In the case of Reptilicus the book was better.Although the film's plot isn't that different , the realization of the monster was much better left to one's imagination than what appears on the screen.This is the one Tri-Star should have remade.They could have even blown Reptilicus up and had 100's of small one regenerate in the Garden.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Easily the worst giant monster movie of all time
Review: People think Godzilla movies have bad special effects? Well, after seeing this piece of cinematic waste, maybe people will respect the workmanship put into the G films. This movie is absolutely terrible. The special effects, like I said, are extremely egregiously bad. All of the live action scenes are nauseatingly ridiculous. It just has no redeeming values whatsoever. It's not a "good bad movie" just bad in the most extreme way. Why can't MGM release some other monster movie on DVD? Why not release The Mysterians instead? Oy.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Monster Cheese
Review: Pretty decent bit of Danish cheese. The tail of an ancient self-regenerating reptile monster is fed nutrients until it...REGENERATES! The monster goes no a rampage of very bad special effects. A lot of bad acting, even worse script and two cute Danish blonds add to the flavor. A good value!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Great Story, horrible effects, but a classic monster movie!
Review: Reptilicus is a great story that happened on film too soon. Its makers didn't have the Jurassic Park effects available today, and obviously didn't have the budget to make a decent film. But the story is a good one, it's believeable, and is always a good relief from the cheesy Japanese movies that are out there. It's filmed in Denmark and the actors speak English. If you want some great 60's sci-fi without rubber-suited Japanese monsters, horrible dubbing, and stupid story lines, try this one. It's bad, like all monster movies, but it's good fun.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A wonderfully bad movie
Review: Reptilicus is so bad that it is great! A film this inept should please any lover of bad movies! I group of men are prospecting for copper when they unknowingly unearth a piece of the long dormant reptile's tail. Once it is safely tucked away in a freezer at an aquarium, one of the scientists (Dr. Dalby) unknowingly allows the tail to thaw out when he falls asleep at his desk. Somehow, the door to the freezer pops open but it is never explained how this happened. I guess the good doctor didn't close the door properly after snipping off a piece of the tail for further study. Anyhow, the tail thaws out and Reptilicus regenerates to terrorize all Denmark.
Brigadier General Mark Grayson leads the allied forces into battle against the huge beast and blow one of it's appendages clean off where it sinks to the sea bottom and starts to regenerate. This makes it possible to consider a sequel, but sadly, a second helping of this muck was never made.
Eventually, General Grayson and his trusty bazooka manage to shoot a tranquilizer into the monster's mouth that knocks it completly out. This will allow the monster to be killed. As the film ends you can see the missing appendage throbbing on the sea floor, threatening to regenerate and wreak havoc all over again.
As I said earlier, this is a terrible film but it is so bad that it is wonderful. It ranks as one of the absolute worst giant monster movies ever made. Thank you, Sidney Pink!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I saw it on the big screen when I was 10 . . .
Review: The 3 stars is for sentimental reasons. It scared the daylights out of me when I was a kid. Yes, it was in the day when you could ride your bicycle on a 10 mile ride as a 10 year old with your mother not knowing about it, end up at the State theater in the middle of the city and see a matinee for four bits. When done with the 10 cent Dots, 25 cent soda and popcorn, you and your buds could speculate about the mysterious and terifying ending for hours on end. Even though it is a horrible movie by today's standards, it was on the big screen and as I recall the theater was full. It was a great way to spend a summer afternoon in air conditioned splender. Sure this would be a good candidate for Mystery Science Theater 3000, but it still is one of those Movies that reminds one about a purer and simpler time and famous freinds no longer seen. "EEEEH! REPTILICUS!"


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