For a small country Denmark has created some sensational movies. We of course can think of Jagten (2012), Adams æbler (2005), Blinkende lygter (2000), Kapringen (2012) or Dogville (2003). But for a true classic we should rewind all the way back to the glorious 60s.
Reptilicus is the name for two monster films about a giant, prehistoric reptile which decides to attack Denmark.
Shot simultaneously, one film is in Danish (1961) and the other is from the USA in English (1962). Both films have a near identical cast (except for one actress) and two directors (Poul Bang – Danish, and Sidney Pink – English) who took turns throughout each shooting day to create two of the most iconic, kitsch and downright unintentional masterpieces to grace Danish screens.
The plot tells of a Danish miner in Lapland who accidentally digs up a section of a giant reptile’s tail from the frozen ground. The section is flown to the Denmark’s Aquarium in Copenhagen, where it is preserved in a temperature-controlled room for scientific study.
Of course they don’t put anyone competent in charge of monitoring it but instead choose a bumbling buffoon (the legendary Dirch Passer). The room is left open and the section begins to thaw and regenerate.
The Professor in charge of the aquarium, notices its ability and dubs the reptilian species ‘Reptilicus’.
Once fully regenerated from the tail section, Reptilicus escapes and goes on an unstoppable rampage from the Danish countryside to the panic-stricken streets of Copenhagen.
There are plenty of good scenes at this point (all available on YouTube) whereby the Danes in coordination with the American military, release a hellfire of rockets and bullets at the monster. None do any damage but they manage to thoroughly destroy the city.
They also attempt to raise Langebro and keep Reptilicus on Amager (apparently Amager’s preservation was not a priority in the 1960s either) but unintentionally send desperate fleeing locals off the exposed ledge and down into the freezing cold canal.
Eventually the monster is rendered unconscious by a sedative shot into its mouth from a bazooka. The film is left open-ended. A final shot shows one of Reptilicus’ legs, which had been blown off earlier by the Danish Navy’s depth charges, beginning to move on its own, raising the possibility that it is starting to regenerate into a new Reptilicus.
It’s puppets, it’s bad acting, it’s shot in Denmark, there are scenes with Tivoli, it’s perfect.
The Danish film was swiftly edited and released seven months after shooting started. However, the American release took much longer.
Editors said it was “unreleasable” so a Danish-American screewriter (Ib Melchior) took over, altering footage and dubbing all the Danish actor’s voices with American actors including Melchior. The irony of shooting a movie twice for language reasons and then dubbing it anyway is glaring.
The American version has essentially been forgotten but the Danish version, despite bad reviews, is Denmark’s only giant monster film and became a cult-classic.
Next time you sit down and can’t choose between Susanne Bier or Thomas Vinterberg, spare a thought for the Bang/Pink 60s masterpiece that will always have a place in the nation’s heart.
