Reptilicus

Plot

Danish miners Svend Viltorft dig up a section of a giant reptile's tail from the frozen grounds in Lapland, where they are drilling. The section is flown to the Danish Aquarium in Copenhagen, where it is preserved in a cold room for scientific study. But due to careless mishandling, the room is left open and the section begins to thaw, only for scientists to find that it is starting to regenerate.

Professor Otto Martens, who is in charge of the Aquarium, dubs the reptilian species "Reptilicus" (upon a reporter's suggestion) and compares its regeneration abilities to that of other animals like starfish.

Once fully regenerated from the tail section, Reptilicus goes on an unstoppable rampage from the Danish countryside to the panic-stricken streets of Copenhagen (including one of its famous landmarks, Langebro Bridge). The monster is finally rendered unconscious by a sedative, developed by ingenious scientists, and shot into its mouth from a bazooka fired by Gen. Grayson.

However, the film is left open-ended. A final shot shows Reptilicus's foot, which had been blown off earlier by the Danish Navy's depth charges, sinking to the floor of the ocean, raising the possibility that it could regenerate into a new Reptilicus.

Cast

Production

Filming took place in several locations in Denmark, including Copenhagen, Sjælland, and Jylland. Several versions were filmed, the original film was filmed using the native Danish language and the second was filmed using the English language. Each version of the film featured the same actors with the exception of Bodil Miller who was replaced by actress Marlies Behrens since the Danish actress could not speak English. However the English version of the film was heavily edited and the actors' voices dubbed over by American International Pictures for its release in the United States.

Release and reception

As Denmark's first and only giant monster film, this film has a cult following in its home country. Sidney Pink attempted to produce a remake of the film in 2001, due to the box office success of Godzilla in 1998, before his death in 2002.

The film received mostly negative reviews from American critics, it currently has a 25% "Rotten" rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 7 critical reviews and a score of 37% from users.

The film was "riffed" on April 14, 2017, as the first entry in Netflix's Season Eleven of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Home media

The American version of Reptilicus was released on DVD on April 1, 2003 by MGM Home Entertainment under the Midnite Movies banner. The Danish version was released on DVD from Sandrew Metronome (Denmark) in 2002. On June 16, 2015, the film was released in the Blu-ray format by Scream Factory as a double feature with the 1977 film Tentacles.

Novelization and comic

A novelization of the film was released in paperback at the time of its original release (Reptilicus by Dean Owen (Monarch, 1961)).

In 1961, Charlton Comics produced a comic book based on the film. Reptilicus lasted two issues. After the copyright had lapsed, Charlton modified the creatures look and renamed it Reptisaurus. The series was now renamed Reptisaurus the Terrible and would continue from issue #3 before being cancelled with issue #8 in 1962. This was followed by a one-shot called Reptisaurus Special Edition in 1963.

In 2012, Scary Monsters Magazine reprinted the Reptisaurus the Terrible series as a black and white collection called Scarysaurus the Scary.

In popular culture