Monster schlock madness from Denmark. We’re of course talking about the one and only… REPTILICUS! Be afraid. Be very afraid! This is also known for being the one and (for the time being) only sea monster flick that was made, not only in Denmark, but in Scandinavia. And if the poster itself wasn’t enough to set the tone right away, then let’s just say that this is the type of film that Ed Wood would have made, if he hadn’t become best friends with Jack Daniels and Martini Rosso.
How to even start with this absurd, mental clownshow … yes, it’s one of those. Well, it’s important to know that the film was simultaneously made in two versions, in Danish and in English for American audiences. Poul Bang directed the Danish version while the American version was done by Sidney W. Pink. The shooting was as simple as right after Poul Bang shot his scene, Sidney Pink took over and shot his scene for the American version. And of course, not all the Danish actors could speak English very well, so some dubbing had to be added. Why they just didn’t dub the whole thing from the Danish version to both save a lot of time and money, god knows.
The Danish version was released in Denmark by Saga Studios in 1961, and the English-speaking version was released in the US by American International Pictures in 1963. And yes, both versions exists.
Reptilicus starts somewhere in the forest of Lapland where a group of oil-drilling miners digs up a mysterious tail from a prehistoric monster that has been frozen for thousands of years. C o o l. After it is transported to Denmark’s Aquarium in Copenhagen, it soon looks like the tail is actually in the process of regenerating itself into a brand-new animal. Or maybe a… monster! And then there’s this mentally-challenged caretaker, whom I’ll come back to. The whole crew at the aquarium goes for a cabin trip, while we spend some time with General Greyson at the famous Tivoli Gardens. Here we have a song number by none other than the famous Danish Eurovision representative Birthe Wilke who sings her song Tivoli Nights. What a cute Ad for tourism, nevertheless. Tivoli Gardens is still spinning, by the way, which is actually the second-oldest operating amusement park in the world. Anyway: In the meantime, the monster escapes the aquarium and roams into the countryside of Denmark, where he kills cows and ruins a family dinner. Kors i røven!
What we have next is basically the whole Danish military force assembled to track down the monster with tanks, missiles, flamethrowers and all the firearms they could get their hands on. Yes, this shit gets real. When Reptilicus enters Copenhagen we see a handful of extras who jog with their hands in the pockets through the streets in full “panic-mode“ as they’re smiling and giggling, and just being thrilled about having their fifteen-minutes-of-fame moment in a motion picture. General Greyson, on the other hand, is certainly not smiling as he’s sweating like a pig. The chief of the aquarium has two mild heart attacks. So no, this is no laughing matter.
Then we have the monster itself, which is exactly what you imagined: an e-grade Ray Harryhausen funny-looking puppet on strings who destroys miniature buildings of Copenhagen. And the reveal of Reptilicus is just, like Martin Scorsese would have said, absolute cinema!
As earlier said, the film was shot in two versions. But things were drastically changed after the Danish version had its first screening in its home country, where the film was just laughed at and got bad reviews. Well, what a surprise. The American distributors got very cold feet, looked at each other and said: We can’t release this shit. Look at it! So they brought Reptilicus back to the editing room where they removed several scenes, some of which where Reptilicus flying over a not-so-convincing silhouette over Copenhagen. Nothing looks convincing here though. And to make the monster look more threatening, some special effects were added, such as making the monster spit out green goo. And I honestly don’t know how to describe it. Just see for yourself.
Some quick scenes were added where we see Reptilicus “eating“ some of his victims, which looks like it was directed by Terry Gilliam while he was having a stroke. Other scenes were cut out in the American version, such as a completely random scene where the mentally challenged caretaker is suddenly in a park, surrounded by a group of children and sings a song about Reptilicus. This guy is played by Dirch Passer, who was a big comedian in Denmark and an institutionalized figure at Saga Studios. So, of course, he had to be in Reptilicus, where he mostly makes funny faces and gets himself electrocuted after goofing around with an eel. The American version is also more fast-paced with less talk and more campy action, or in other words, more retarded B to Z-movie goodness.
So yeah, they pulled a Shelby Oaks here, only in this case these changes was done without Sidney Pink’s knowledge. And that made him pissed. So pissed in fact that his last name was changed to Red. But somehow they made the film worse and better at the same time. And this also seems to be the case with the upcoming Kraken (the first sea monster film from our home country Norway) which has been abruptly delayed to next year, by some very suspicious hush-hush reasons. So we just have to wait and see what that’s about and if Denmark will have the last laugh.
And there you have Reptilicus, the first and only sea monster spectacle from little Denmark. A must-see for fans or pure old-school schlock. Also lighthearted enough to work fine for the whole family. It’s available in 4K Ultra HD by Vinegar Syndrome where you get both versions and a cool poster.
Directors: Poul Bang, Sidney W. Pink
Writers: Sidney W. Pink, Ib Melchior
Country & year: Denmark, 1961
Actors: Bent Mejding, Asbjørn Andersen, Povl Wøldike, Ann Smyrner, Mimi Heinrich, Dirch Passer, Marlies Behrens, Carl Ottosen, Ole Wisborg, Birthe Wilke, Mogens Brandt, Kjeld Petersen
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056405/
