Line #23 Film/Reptilicus


1	[[quoteright:271:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/reptilicus_danish.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:271: The Danish theatrical poster]]
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4	''Reptilicus'' is a 1961 [[UsefulNotes/{{Denmark}} Danish]] {{Kaiju}} movie, in the vein of ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'', notable for being the first and only of its kind. A Danish-American co-production, an English-speaking version was filmed simultaneously with the Danish one, which led to the frequent misunderstanding that the two versions are the same except for language, but in practice there are quite a few differences between the two versions, as the two projects each had their own separate director attached (Poul Bang for the Danish version, and script co-writer Sidney W. Pink for the American version) and a couple of differences in cast. Notably, the American version also went through a somewhat heavier post-production and editing process than its Danish counterpart, [[ExecutiveMeddling due to demands from studio executives]], resulting in it first getting released in 1962.
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6	A section of a giant reptile's tail is found by a Danish mining company in the frozen grounds in Lapland. 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. Eventually having grown back to its full size, the monster goes on an unstoppable rampage from the Danish countryside to the panic-stricken streets of Copenhagen.
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8	Had a short-lived adaptation from Creator/CharltonComics, but because they bought the film rights from the American distributor and not the Danish creators, they had to drop the title after issue 2. The story continued, however as ''Reptisaurus.''
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10	Long considered a CultClassic by kaiju fans, especially in its home country. The film would gain notoriety again in 2017 when it was featured in the first episode of Creator/{{Netflix}}'s revival of the popular movie-riffing series ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000.'' For tropes in that episode, [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S11E01Reptilicus see here]].
11	----
12	!!Tropes:
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14	* AesopAmnesia: When General Grayson is trying to blow up a submerged Reptilicus with depth charges, Ms. Miller implores him to stop, reminding him that every piece blown off the monster could, given time, regenerate into another full creature. Not that much later, Professor Martens has to remind him of the same detail when Grayson (who is admittedly getting rather desperate at that point) plans to blow Reptilicus up with a bombing run.
15	* AntagonistTitle
16	* AdaptationalBadass: The U.S. version portrayed Reptilicus as being able to spit globs of bright green acid, a power which was absent in the Danish version. On the other hand...
17	* AdaptationalWimp: Reptilicus can't fly anymore in the U.S. version.
18	* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: Zigzagged. The movie was backed by the Danish military and featured many actual Danish soldiers with authentic uniforms and equipment, but General Grayson's ribbon bar is missing several medals which he would have been awarded for his service in World War II.[[note]]He's missing the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and probably the American Defense Service Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge. Since he's wearing the Korean Service Medal and is in Denmark under the auspices of the United Nations, he should also have the United Nations Medal.[[/note]]
19	* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Dr. Martens describes Reptilicus as Nature's "attempt to bridge the gap between reptiles and mammals". This is not how evolution works; Martens' description implies that evolution has a ''goal'', and that nature somehow deliberately evolved mammals (including humans) as the next step up from reptiles.
20	* ChickMagnet: Svend enters the aquarium and leaves not five minutes later in ALadyOnEachArm situation with Dr. Martens's daughters.
21	* ConvectionSchmonvection: The opposite of the usual version of the trope. Leaving the door to a walk-in freezer set to twenty below freezing ajar overnight does not noticeably cool the room next to it, but does allow the contents of the freezer to completely thaw in a matter of hours. For that matter, storing Reptilicus' tail in there should have frozen it solid, but a scientist is able to scrape off some tissue samples to examine with a scalpel rather than needing a hammer and chisel.
22	* CoversAlwaysLie: The poster art for the U.S. version showed a gigantic draconic monster ripping UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco apart, destroying the Golden Gate Bridge, and laying waste to US Navy ships. The Danish poster art was comparatively much more honest.
23	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: "We'll have to shoot it point blank, from very close range!" Ah, yeah, that's what "point blank" means, dude. To be fair, Grayson is explaining this to a group including scientists, who might not necessarily know what "point blank" means.
24	* DinosaursAreDragons: In-universe, Reptilicus is identified as a surviving member of a hitherto-undiscovered prehistoric reptile species. However, its design is clearly based after a classical Norse dragon (right down to the wings and serpentine body shape).
25	* DrivingADesk: During the sightseeing of Copenhagen part. As the old Jabootu.com review of the movie put it...
26	-->This is followed by a charmingly inept front projection shot of Grayson and Connie touring the city in a convertible. How bad is the effect? We half expect the couple to exit the car and reveal that they were in an arcade ride of some sort.
27	* DubNameChange: Dirch Passer's comedic relief janitor character is named Mikkelsen in the Danish version and Peterson in the U.S. version.
28	* TheEndOrIsIt: Yay! The army [[spoiler: made Reptilicus swallow a poison missile, and now it's dead]]! Denmark can now go back to normal life! [[spoiler: Except that the piece of Reptilicus severed by a depth charge is now twitching...]]
29	* FromASingleCell: The whole of Reptilicus regenerates from its tail (though {{downplayed\|Trope}} in that the scientists initially have to keep the tail on a nutrient I.V. to supply it with biomass to regenerate with). This is also the reason why the scientists claim that the Army can't just blow Reptilicus up--if they fail to police up all of the pieces, in a few months they'll just have several more of them running around. [[spoiler:And TheStinger implies that this does in fact happen...]]
30	* GodzillaThreshold: Averted. The Danish army refuses to break out its more powerful ordnance while Reptilicus is in urban areas: First to avoid civilian casualties, and later out of fear that blowing Reptilicus up will cause pieces of it to scatter and eventually form more monsters.
31	* HarmlessFreezing: Despite being frozen to -20º C, Reptilicus is able to come back to life after thawing out.
32	* HealingFactor: Ridiculous amounts of it -- Reptilicus heals from extreme wounds in record time.
33	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Captain Brandt]] driving his jeep towards Reptilicus to get its attention again after being distracted by a siren.
34	%%* HollywoodAcid: The monster's main weapon, in the U.S. cut.%%Is?
35	* HollywoodTactics: The army is stymied when Reptilicus learns to stay out of range of their flamethrowers. Apparently the Danish Army has never heard of napalm or incendiaries.
36	* ItsAllMyFault: Svend feels responsible for all of the lives taken by Reptilicus because of his initial discovery of the monster.
37	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: General Grayson is introduced as an unpleasant sourpuss, and his friendliness level never really makes it past "brusque" (though he does hit it off with Svend fairly well). At heart, however, he's a good man trying his best to handle a terrible situation.
38	* JustAStupidAccent: In the U.S. version, the Danish characters speaks English with a supposedly Danish accent, though to anyone familiar with the typical Danish-English accent, the attempts by the dub actors [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent sounds more broadly German than Danish]].
39	* LargeHam: Mikkelsen (Peterson in the U.S. cut). Practically a requirement for any character played by Dirch Passer.
40	* TheMainCharactersDoEverything:
41	** Svend is originally just the copper prospector that found the monster. For some reason he then spends the entire movie hanging around the lab for weeks on end, despite explicitly saying that he has no relevant training. He then gets to be the guy who remembers poison is a thing at the end.
42	** And the American general is the one who delivers the death blow with the rocket launcher. In real life, if a general is firing a rocket launcher at the enemy, something has gone very, very wrong.
43	* MonsterInTheIce: Reptilicus is discovered frozen in the permafrost of Lapland. A chunk of its tail is dug up, transferred to an aquarium in Copenhagen, and placed in refrigerated storage for study. Of course, mishandling allows the tail to thaw out and it resumes cellular activity, eventually regenerating into a full-blown {{kaiju}} that goes on a rampage.
44	* {{Novelization}}: Written by Dean Owen, who also did the novelization for ''{{Film/Konga}}.'' Owen adds in numerous sex scenes between the characters to spice things up.
45	* NeverRecycleYourSchemes: The army learns in their first battle that Reptilicus is pretty vulnerable to fire. Yet in their second attack, they find excuses not to use flamethrowers again.
46	** The American version at least offers the excuse that Reptilicus's slime attack prevents the soldiers from getting close enough to use flamethrowers. But the monster didn't even have slime in the Danish version.
47	* PsychoElectricEel: Played for laughs when dim-witted Mikkelsen decides to stick his hand in a tank with a electric eel and comically overacts as he gets shocked by said eel.
48	* RedHerring: In fairly rapid succession, the film introduces Dirch Passer's dull-witted janitor/night watchman character, calls attention to the fact that the freezer the tissue specimen is in runs on electric power, and shows us that there's an electric eel in an open fish tank outside the lab that Passer's character has a fascination with. It seems to imply that Passer's character will do something dumb, probably involving the eel, that will cause a power loss and allow the sample to thaw. Shortly after, the movie gives us a late-night thunderstorm, providing another possible source for a power outage. In fact, it's Dr. Dalby leaving the freezer door open in a bout of fatigue-induced carelessness that sets the events of the plot in motion. (Although a second electrical storm later in the film does provide an opportunity for Reptilicus to escape the lab.)
49	* SameLanguageDub: The film was shot with the cast phonetically speaking their lines in English to make it easier to sell in America, but the cast's thick accents forced its American distributors to re-dub the entire film.
50	* SceneryPorn: Well, an attempt at it -- there are several scenes of various Danish landmarks and cultural events early in the movie (cut from the ''[=MST3K=]'' episode), presumably inserted to attract tourists who saw the movie. Based on the film's obscurity for many years, it likely it didn't work.
51	* ShooOutTheClowns: The comic relief Mikkelsen completely disappears in the second half of the film.
52	* TechnicolorScience: That's a rather interesting laboratory in the Akvarium.
53	* ThatRemindsMeOfASong: In the Danish version, Dirch Passer's character, Mikkelsen, gets [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifEI7OlkQH8 a completely unmotivated and random comedic song number]] featuring a children's choir in the chorus, in the middle of the film, apparently solely because the producers thought the film needed a bit of musical relief.

Context Film / Reptilicus