Reptilicus - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray (Standard Edition)

Back in the long-long-ago of 2015 when I was a brand new writer here at HDD, I had the pleasure of reviewing Scream Factory’s double feature release of Tentacles and Reptilicus. That was my first viewing of the titular creature and its rampage across Denmark, and looking back at that review, I don’t think wasn’t very kind to it. At the time I rated it a 2.5/5 while also noting the high points and praising Sydney Pink’s little creature feature where I could. Nine years, several viewings, and an MST3K revival later, this little monster movie gem has certainly grown on me! I still think it’s a bit labored up front taking a damned long time to get where it wants to go, but once the green/brown furry rod-puppet creature starts laying waste to entire model armies while destroying numerous scale buildings, the film’s a hoot! Here’s what I said back in 2015 - but I’m upping the score a full star because I just enjoy the hell out of his goofy flick. 

Copper miners in the remote tundra of Lapland happen upon an amazing discovery while drilling - the severed tail of some sort of prehistoric creature! Still fleshy and bloody - they do the only sensible thing and take the partially frozen mass back to a team of scientists for study. The scientific team led by Professor Otto Martens (Asbjorn Anderson) and Dr. Peter Dalby (Povl Woldike) do the even smarter thing and thaw the tail out! Granted thawing the hunk of flesh was an accident, but when they discover that the piece of the animal flesh is still alive they show off their incredible brilliance by working to resuscitate it. Rather than killing it with fire, they show off their amazing discovery to the entire world and this would have been fine if the thing had ever stopped growing. Only it doesn't stop growing and soon it breaks free from the lab and is on the loose to spit green oozy acid onto the hapless public.

General Mark Grayson (Carl Ottosen) does what he can to combat the creature with his army of stock footage, but there is a fatal flaw to using brute force against the creature - any piece of the animal can spawn new Reptilicus monsters! With one arm tied behind his back. Gen. Grayson must figure out a way of trapping the beast and killing it in such a way that every last part of the monster is destroyed.

Released in 1961, part of me believes this is the movie that Ed Wood was born to make - but never got the chance to. 'Reptilicus' has an elaborate puppet for a monster that uses cheap forced perspective shots to make it look gigantic. Virtually every character takes a momentary pause in the action to pontificate about some heady yet unrelated world issue before going back to the task at hand. Then you have the stock footage, miles and miles of stock footage linked only to the scene in question because some of the cast are dressed like military commanders and sit in a jeep with a radio. 

At its heart, 'Reptilicus' wouldn't be the movie it is without the titular creature. Talk about goofy! Too cheap to use state-of-the-art stop motion effects, the production apparently decided a rod puppet with model train backgrounds and scenery was the trick to use. Also, numerous shots are over-cranked because apparently, slow-motion means huge? It's an odd effect in of itself and then you add in the animated green slime that just leaps out of the creature's plastic mouth and you have the makings of an entertaining little flick that is actually very age-appropriate for youngsters. I have a feeling that if I'd seen this when I was five or six years old I would have loved every second of it. As an adult, it took me a bit of time before I was fully pulled into the movie. The front end of the film is rather laborious since they take a mile to go about ten feet, but the payoff is there. 

While not the greatest movie ever made, 'Reptilicus' is a hoot. It may not be the most thematically cohesive movie to pair with 'Tentacles' but they do make for a decently goofy double feature. It's certainly not the best double feature Scream Factory has ever released, but it's a good time, and and can't see too many people being disappointed by this one. 

Now what’s extra special about this release is we get the longer 95-minute Danish version of Reptilicus. It’s interesting to look at this longer version for the first time and come away feeling like I saw a different movie. This is something to do with the pacing of the film, how the exposition unravels, and even how the film was edited. All you have to do is look at the opening with the mining crew first digging into the creature and how the different edits flow. This Danish version likes to keep the camera back and away whereas the American version gets right into that drill bit and watches the viscera and blood peeled off. Hell, even at that moment we get an entirely different title card with “Reptilicus” spelled out in an ooey-gooey bloody font! If nothing else this American version lacks all the subtlety of the Danish edition. While we get more, more isn’t exactly better. It’s a different flavor, but still very enjoyable, but it doesn’t have the same drive and suspense of the American cut. 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
Reptilicus regenerates onto physical media as a three-disc 4K UHD set from Vinegar Syndrome. This is something of a definitive release because we’re scoring the 82-Minute American cut in 4K and Blu-ray, with the restored 95-minute Danish version on Blu-ray. The 4K version is pressed on a BD-66 disc, a Region A BD-50 handles the American Cut in 1080p and the bulk of the extras, and another Region A BD-50 stores the Danish Version. All three discs are housed in a three-disc black case without stacking with reversible insert art.

The American Cut of Reptilicus spits some beautiful green acid slime on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. This version preserves the 1.66:1 aspect ratio with HDR10. The film has always been bright and colorful making it an attractive candidate for the format. Sourced from a new 35mm scan of the negative, the transfer is frequently a stunning watch. Details in our actors and even some of the intricate model work is truly terrific. Facial features, clothing textures, set design - all are on display with a nice well-resolved veneer of film grain. Where some out there might balk a bit is for some of the film’s effects shots of our big creature. The over-cranked slow-mo shots of the monster are notably noisier and feature a lot of speckling and grit, but for every version I’ve seen that’s aways been there. Doubt anything can fix that. Then when you add some of the optical effects like the monster’s green spit, you’re getting layers upon layers of VFX shots, and that can soften some details. All are cooked-in issues though and not a fault of the transfer. 

HDR10 does its work giving this bright colorful film the attention it deserves. Primaries are gorgeous with rich vibrant colors that don’t feel pushed or oversaturated. The pasty-white skin tones of my ancestors look healthy and normal for my breed without looking too pinked. Black levels are right on the spot lending some great depth to the image, even for those daffy effects shots and obvious models. 

For the 1080p Danish Version, the film comes in at 1.33:1 1080p and looks impressive on its own. It’s interesting to see these somewhat longer-take alternate angles of the film. In a couple of places I did feel like some flicker was apparent along the edges, but nothing too distracting. Film grain is apparent and natural throughout. Colors are again vibrant and healthy, but not to the same degree as the HDR grading. This transfer also looks a stop or two brighter than the American 4K and 1080p, but not distractingly brighter.

Reptilicus stomps onto disc with an impressive DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono track. I frustratingly can not find my old Scream Factory Double Feature for a comparison, but speaking specifically to this mix is sounds great. Dialog is clean and clear without issue, the dubbing isn’t terrible or too mush-mouthed to fit lips or anything like that. Sound effects are big and expansive and when that big lizard goes to war against the humans it sounds great! Levels are spot on without a problem there. 

The Danish DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono mix is likewise clean and clear as well. Given the films are rather different, their use of sound isn't quite the same. Music cues come in a little differently, dialog pacing for humor is a little different. That said the big sound effects for monster mayhem and army carnage sound just right. The English subtleties read well, I only have a very limited understanding of the language, worse than my handle of German, but the subtitles look accurate enough while not being 100% to the letter.

This Danish-born monster fest scores a welcome bonus feature package from Vinegar Syndrome. At the top of the pack is a lively audio commentary with Nicolas Barbano and Kim Newman who discuss both versions of the film at length while focusing on the American Cut specifically. It’s a very fun and informative track so give it a listen. Next up is the terrific 'Fifty Million Years Out of Time' mini-doc from Ballyhoo Motion Pictures. It’s a wonderful look at not only the making of the film and its impact, but the culture that bred a film like this along with other big monster mayhem drive-in fodder films. The “Pink Goes West” was a nice piece about the film’s director Sidney Pink. Then Stephen Bissette returns for another fantastic overview of this creature feature. Now because it’s something of a rarity here in the States, I’m factoring in the Danish Version as a bonus feature because I don’t believe it’s ever seen a disc release here stateside until now. 

4K UHD Disc 

• Audio Commentary featuring Nicolas Barbano and Kim Newman

Blu-ray Disc One

• Audio Commentary featuring Nicolas Barbano and Kim Newman
• Fifty Million Years Out of Time: Revisiting Reptilicus (HD 32:11)
• Pink Goes West: Life After Reptilicus - interview with Jay Jennings (HD 10:47)
• Invincible…Indestructible (HD 28:55)

Blu-ray Disc Two

• Danish Version

Reptilicus is a clever, inventive, highly entertaining, and completely daffy film. Sidney Pink delivered one heck of a monster masher. I wouldn’t necessarily call it among the greatest ever made. I do still feel like if I saw it when I was young I’d favor it more out of nostalgia, but when this show gets going it’s a riot! Now fans and newcomers alike can enjoy this rampaging creature feature in all its glory. Vinegar Syndrome delivers an excellent 4K transfer for the American Cut, some excellent extra features, and completes the package by including the rarely seen Danish Cut on Blu-ray. Might not be everyone’s brand of entertainment, but if paired with another flick, it makes for one-half of a great double feature of giant monster mayhem. Recommended