Reptilicus (1962)

29% of critics liked it
(7 reviews)
35% of users liked it
(1,168 ratings)

The tail of a dinosaur is excavated from the frozen tundra in Lapland and shipped to the Danish Aquarium in Copenhagen for safekeeping in this hilarious sci-fi mess. Someone turns off the refrigeration, alas, and the tail thaws. Regeneration sets in with alarming dispatch and soon the serpent-like… More The tail of a dinosaur is excavated from the frozen tundra in Lapland and shipped to the Danish Aquarium in Copenhagen for safekeeping in this hilarious sci-fi mess. Someone turns off the refrigeration, alas, and the tail thaws. Regeneration sets in with alarming dispatch and soon the serpent-like monster, named "Reptilicus" by the learned paleontologist in charge, is devouring a paper mache Copenhagen. Written in Hollywood by Danish-American Ib Melchior (the son of Wagnerian opera star Lauritz Melchior) and produced in Denmark by Saga Films and American Sid Pink Productions, Reptilicus contains filmdom's perhaps least convincing monster and some of the worst performances imaginable from a hard-working Danish stock company. Carl Ottosen stars as the American General Grayson, angrily shouting his every line for unexplained reasons. Ottosen's wooden performance is second only to that of Bodil Miller, a former Universal starlet who appears here for no apparent reason other than to accompany Ottosen's general on a pleasant night out at the Tivoli amusement park. (A low point of the film is pop star Birthe Wilke's rendition of a ditty, "Tivoli Nights", to a visibly dazed audience.) The monster, meanwhile, fights his battles in what appears to be a child's model train landscape while hundreds of extras do their utmost to look sufficiently frightened. Considering that Reptilicus himself is never in the same frame as any humans, what causes the good citizens of Copenhagen to flee in such panic must be the strange sight of Carl Ottosen brandishing a bazooka while barking orders at the fashionably gowned Miller. Reptilicus was such a financial bomb that employees at the Danish production company, Saga Films, were prohibited from speaking the name for several years. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Sidney Pink, Poul Bang
Written By: Ib Melchior, Sidney W. Pink
Genres: Action & Adventure, Horror, Art House & International, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Jun 1, 1961 Wide
On DVD: Aug 28, 2001
Studio: Orion Home Video

Critic Reviews

Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Hysterically bad

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Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

A bad Godzilla copy cat from Europe, if you think this movie might be fun anyway, you're wrong, it's boring and stupid and very poorly made. I wouldn't recommend it, and I'm mad that I actually rented it from Hollywood Video.
Cindy I

I first remember seeing this at a drive-in theatre when I was a small child...or rather hearing it, because it scared me to death,so I was hiding behind the seat while my parents enjoyed (?) the film. That's a sign of what an utter chicken I was, because this thing isn't… More
I first remember seeing this at a drive-in theatre when I was a small child...or rather hearing it, because it scared me to death,so I was hiding behind the seat while my parents enjoyed (?) the film. That's a sign of what an utter chicken I was, because this thing isn't even CLOSE to scary. Made in Denmark, it's a giant monster film on the order of The Thing or Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, and not as good as the worst parts of either of those films. Bad in pretty much every way you can conjure, with some particularly awful comic relief by a janitor character. There is a travelogue tour of Copenhagen that almost held my attention for a couple of minutes. Bad enough to be fun to watch with a bunch of witty sarcastic friends, but painful to watch alone.
Daniel H

Nearly terrible, if not for its sheer uniqueness as one of (make that the only) Danish monster movie. Covering all of the required B-Move formulas, with the added bonus of giving New York and Tokyo a rest in favor of exotic (and hilariously modeled) Copenhagen. The final icing on the… More
Nearly terrible, if not for its sheer uniqueness as one of (make that the only) Danish monster movie. Covering all of the required B-Move formulas, with the added bonus of giving New York and Tokyo a rest in favor of exotic (and hilariously modeled) Copenhagen. The final icing on the cake is the absurdly pupeteered Reptilicus, which dangles on marionette strings and has a non-existent body almost always hidden by a convenient grove of trees. The American version removes a hilariously bad flying sequence, but fear not, it adds a laughable "special effect" of neon projectile goo.