A copper mine in Denmark is where drilling is taking place, but there has been something unusual discovered in the process: blood. Head of the operation Svend Viltorft (Bent Mejding) is baffled, and even more so when the drill bit brings up flesh and bone - what could be down there? It's time to bring in the experts, so Professor Otto Martens (Asbjørn Andersen) is called and he identifies the matter as from a dinosaur which must have been trapped in the subterranean ice for centuries, perfectly preserved. They do more digging and find an entire tail - but make the mistake of bringing that back to the lab...
There aren't exactly hundreds of Danish giant monster movies, in fact there was really only one, and that was Reptilicus, a majestic example of ambition triumphing over anything more sensible. For some reason this rather daft effort has endured down the years, often used as stock footage for anyone wanting a cheesy-looking creature to add into their work as a cutaway gag, but as a entire work taken on its own terms, well, it was still pretty ludicrous, no matter if you were watching the original Danish version or the one prepared for American and English language-speaking territories. Denmark got a bit more of this, while the edited version had the novelty of green vomit.
No, the characters were not sick when they caught sight of the terror on the rampage, but Reptilicus himself threw up what looked like masses of green snot, but was supposed to be "acid slime". Someone was obviously courting Godzilla comparisons, and had this ejaculation be the equivalent of the Japanese beast's fiery breath, though naturally it just looked terrible. Adding insult to injury was the fact while this was made in an English version originally - the brains behind it, Sidney Pink and Ib Melchior were based in America, so had an eye on that lucrative market - A.I.P. who bought the property redubbed it in slightly less strong Danish voices, and most unforgivably for the movie's fans, they cut the flying scene!
Yes, Reptilicus proudly sports a pair of wings which if you're not watching the original incarnation meant you'd never get to see him use; okay, that bit lasts mere seconds on screen, but it does leave non-Danish viewers pondering what the point of those appendages were. But there was plenty more lunacy to be getting on with, not least from comic relief Dirch Passer, a local comedian who was included for Danish appeal, though his humour perhaps didn't translate as well as the filmmakers might have hoped, what with his antics with an electric eel and general mugging for the camera. Though if he didn't make you laugh intentionally then there was much here that would have you laughing unintentionally, and that was even before the shaky dinosaur puppet made its appearance.
That piece of tail (so to speak) is brought back to the Professor's lab and accidentally thawed, whereupon it begins to grow back the rest of the creature. An explanation for this is offered by the Prof, something to do with the properties of flatworms which doesn't sound very convincing, but who needs that when you're anticipating a monster mash? At this point the sensible thing might have been to ensure it didn't get any bigger, but the scientists are happy to allow it to grow full size, and I bet you can't guess what happens next. Oh, you can. Reptilicus breaks out and starts his reign of terror, eating a cow (apart from the head) and a farmer (who turns into a cartoon in his jaws), then embarking on the destruction of Copenhagen, pausing briefly to visit the beach as the boffins come up with explanations for his behaviour that sound science-y but convince few. Add in a musical interlude and travelogue footage, and you had a shocker in more ways than one, though oddly entertaining. Music by Les Baxter.
