Reptilicus (4K UHD Review)

Reviewed by: Sam Cohen
Review Date: Aug 28, 2024
Format: 4K Ultra HD

Director

Poul Bang/Sidney W. Pink

Release Date(s)

1961 (August 27, 2024)

Studio(s)

Saga Studios/American International Pictures (Vinegar Syndrome)

Film/Program Grade: C
Video Grade: A
Audio Grade: A-
Extras Grade: B

Review

The kaiju craze that Godzilla brought to the global filmmaking industry was clearly felt throughout the 1960s, especially as it concerned the smaller distributors in the United States, like American International Pictures. AIP knew that they wouldn’t have the resources or talent in the US to produce egregious monster entertainment, thus they partnered with Saga Studio in Denmark who already had the physical effects talent seemingly commensurate with kaiju films being made in Japan. American producer Sidney Pink, on behalf of AIP, worked with Danish filmmaker Poul Bang to make Reptilicus in two distinct versions: One in English and the other in Danish. The two versions went beyond just different languages, though, with different voice casts, editing flows and an extended narrative in the Danish version. Sidney Pink’s English version was immediately deemed unreleasable by AIP and re-edited by Danish-American screenwriter Ib Melchior to make it punchier and more violent. Pink relented once he saw the new cut and dropped his concerns about not being involved with it.

But what is Reptilicus? They’re a giant flying lizard with toxic acid saliva who has been awoken by a group of Danish miners. Both versions depict Reptilicus’ tail being dug up at a mining site, brought to Denmark’s Aquarium in Copenhagen for further study and then the tail regenerates into the full beastie. This is all build-up to the big set pieces, using optical effects, miniatures, puppets and even animation to enact terror across the Denmark countryside all the way to the heart of Copenhagen. The approach both versions take couldn’t be more different, though. Where the Danish version is much kinder to the violent beastie, even creating a ton more sympathy for the monster through a terrible musical number of a bunch of kids singing about Reptilicus. As for the American version, Reptilicus is firmly the enemy and something to eviscerate in the most violent way possible.

As you can probably tell from above, the production history behind Reptilicus is often more engaging and interesting than the film itself, but even creature feature bombs have a place in the canon. Those sickos at Vinegar Syndrome understand this, especially with their previous Ultra HD release of Gorgo, and audiences are definitely kinder and more willing to watch junk food like this now because enough time has passed. The passage of time has certainly made me look at Reptilicus much more fondly than I have in the past. It’s a shoddy film, to be sure, but it offers an abundance of textural qualities so unique to that era and is a hilarious little marvel of Mystery Science Theater 3000-style absurdity. After all, are we really watching a movie in which a puppeted lizard creature moves at a glacial pace for slick thrills and chills? Nope, we’re probably watching this thing on a Saturday or Sunday morning having our brains woken up by egregious beast-fighting nonsense.

You need only look at the opening mining sequence to see the main difference between the English and Danish versions of Reptilicus. Where the English version is much more assaultive, reveling in the blood spurts coming out of the ground when they initially dig into the creature’s tail, the Danish version treats it with leering and genuine interest. And that difference is felt throughout both cuts, with the English version making a clear enemy of Reptilicus and the chaos they create, while the Danish version is much kinder to the monster and attempts to build sympathy for it. Both approaches are backed by shoddy craftsmanship and special effects that look like it cost $5, but there’s something quite entertaining about watching this low-budget production create confounding ways to get Reptilicus to wreak havoc.

Balmy creature features have their place in cinema history, and Reptilicus may be the most egregious of them when it comes to entertainment. Come for the kaiju action but stay for the increasingly haphazard attempts at special effects, I swear you won’t regret it, especially as the beastie starts eating rotoscope-animated people.

Reptilicus flies triumphantly in 4K Ultra HD courtesy of Vinegar Syndrome, sourced from a new 4K restoration of the original camera negative. This three-disc release offers the English-language version on a 66 GB disc with data rates hovering between 70 and 80Mbps, the English-language version and supplements on a standard 50 GB disc, plus another 50 GB disc that offers the Danish-language version and supplements. All three discs are housed in a standard black Amaray case with reversible sleeve artwork. And if you purchase this release from Vinegar Syndrome’s website, it will come in a spot gloss slipcase and slipcover combo designed by Matt Frank.

Reptilicus was shot spherically and finished in the aspect ratio of 1.66:1. Presented here in its original aspect ratio and in 2160p with High Dynamic Range color grading in HDR10, I can confidently state that this is the best this ramshackle of a film will ever look at home. There’s a huge amount of optical effects used throughout, which often makes the film grain layer a bit chunkier and detail softer, but the HEVC encode handles everything wonderfully here. When the film switches to raw 35mm captures with no special effects, the result is terrific, with flesh tones tuned in just right, facial features and sets gaining added clarity and better-refined highlights, plus the chunky slo-mo shots of the beast gain added fidelity despite all the shoddy VFX plates working against them. The shots of rear projection effects against characters in the foreground specifically look insane. You can really see just how little of a budget they had to shoot this thing. Black levels haven’t been overly boosted to account for the softer shots, luckily, and are presented here looking nice and inky.

As for the Danish-language version of the film, it is presented in 1080p and 1.33:1 on the third disc in the set. Not sure if this restoration came from the same source, but it’s noticeably a couple of steps brighter than the standard Blu-ray presentation of the English-language version. The MPEG-4 encode handles everything well, but there’s certainly a bit more damage to this presentation than the English-language version. Not distractingly so, though of course worthy of noting.

The attached 2.0 mono track presented in the DTS-HD Master Audio codec is similarly terrific, blending haphazard dubbing and special effects sounds to the best of its ability. And when Reptilicus starts taking down Copenhagen with acid saliva, the track is strong and doesn’t have much damage to note. For such a low-budgeted production, I was a bit shocked at how clear and textural the sound could be rendered from it. Kudos to the Vinegar Syndrome team for treating both English- and Danish-language versions with clean and clear audio presentations.

The included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track is the same that was included on the original Blu-ray and while some may be disappointed with no Atmos upgrade, this is still a very pleasing track that honors the film. It’s mostly a front-focused track for exteriors with heavy dialogue, but I did notice during the scene on the beach where Mike runs into his ex-girlfriend that the audio is pleasingly directional as she walks into the frame and back into the story. The club scenes have terrific LFE and show off that bouncy soundtrack perfectly, bass is tuned very well to situate you in the club as if you were a member of the audience. Source seems to be in great condition with no damage or encoding issues to note.

DISC ONE: UHD

Audio Commentary featuring Nicolas Barbano and Kim Newman

DISC TWO: BD #1

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)

DISC THREE: BD #2

Danish-Language Version (HD – 95:42)

As for special features, there’s a terrific new mini-doc from Ballyhoo Motion Pictures titled Fifty Million Years Out of Time: Making Reptilicus. This doc sets the stage wonderfully for Reptilicus to do their thing, studying specifically the American drive-in circuit and how deeply they were affected by these big monster and kaiju films. Plus, there’s a good read on the filmmaker Sidney Pink by film historian Jay Jennings and an overview provided by Stephen Bissette. I’m counting the Danish-language version of the film as a major bonus feature, as I don’t believe that version has ever seen a proper release. Oh, and if you’re a fan of Kim Newman’s illuminating commentaries, you’ll find that and much more with the attached commentary involving him and Nicolas Barbano. The duo focuses mostly on the English-language version but do their due diligence in breaking down the differences between the versions as they play out during the commentary. Needless to say, this is a rather stellar supplements package for a film that had a pretty subpar and spare Blu-ray from Shout Factory back in 2015.

Those halcyon days of cheap monster movies are due for reappraisal, and Reptilicus has earned a 4K Ultra HD release that’s commensurate with Vinegar Syndrome’s usual top quality standards. For those who love Mystery Science Theater 3000, you may already know this little Danish-American co-production. But for those who don’t, this brand-new release will bring you up to speed and teach you a thing or two about the history surrounding this film oddity. Just, you know, don’t expect a movie that involves wired puppets moving slowly towards their prey as award-winning entertainment and you’ll be good! All hail Reptilicus!

- Sam Cohen

(You can follow Sam on social media at these links: Facebook, Instagram, and Letterboxd.)