Hammer Time: The Reptile (1966)

This is the one and only Hammer film I learned of from the book, A Field Guide to Monsters, which I bought in the summer of 2006 at a mall in Chattanooga. Like I said in my review of Vampire in Brooklyn, it acts as a revised edition of a book originally written by Dr. Van Helsing in 1898 and goes through various types of movie monsters, detailing their behavior, abilities, weaknesses, and such; it's essentially a smaller, colorful, and far more pictorial version of The Horror Movie Survival Guide, which I bought back in 2002. The Reptile herself was featured in the first chapter, on "Mutated Lizards, Fish, and Dinosaurs," (which doesn't fit, as she should have been in the next one, on "Mutated Men, Women, Animals, and Insects,"), but, by the time I saw the movie, it had been so long since I'd read that book that I'd totally forgotten everything it said about the creature, including that it was a woman. In fact, I didn't even know this was a Hammer film until a while after I read it since, given how it was trying to come as a real field guide, no mention of the studio was ever made. And because it's not one of Hammer's more well-known movies, save for diehard fans, I knew absolutely nothing about it when I finally did see it after buying a Blu-Ray-R at a convention in the fall of 2017. Fortunately, it proved to be a very pleasant surprise, as I think it's absolutely fabulous, with everything you'd want out of a Hammer Gothic, including an engaging story and cast of characters, pacing that's deliberate but never feels slow and dull, and, like The Gorgon, a different sort of monster with a sympathetic character to it.

The village of Clagmoor Heath, Cornwall, the 1800's. One night, Charles Spalding is lured to a large mansion near his modest country cottage and is attacked, which leads to him dying a horrific death that involves his skin turning black and foaming at the mouth. He's the latest in a line of people who have died from the same malady, which the locals call the "Black Death." After his burial in the village, his brother, Harry, a member of the Grenadier Guards, is bequeathed everything he owns, including the cottage, Larkrise. He and his wife, Valerie, travel to Clagmoor Heath to settle Charles' affairs and plan to make the cottage a permanent home. But, when they arrive, they find that none of the villagers will have anything to do with them, save for Tom Bailey, the owner of the local pub. He directs them to Larkrise, but suggests they sell it and get out while they can. When they find the cottage, they discover that the inside has been ransacked, which none of the villagers own up to, and though they do manage to make friends with "Mad Peter," the village oddball, he returns to the cottage late in the night, dying of the same hideous condition that killed Charles Spalding. They also meet Dr. Franklyn, the reclusive and rather intimidating resident of the large house near the cottage, who has a strong feeling of contempt and aggravation towards his daughter, Anna, who often wanders off without his permission. The Spaldings do manage to have dinner with them, only to witness what appears to be an act of unreasonable cruelty towards Anna on Franklyn's part. Following Peter's death, Spalding decides to find the source of the Black Death, and eventually manages to get Bailey to help him. Bailey digs up the bodies of both Peter and Charles and finds that they both have bite marks on the neck, which resemble the bite of a king cobra, with the condition of the bodies also reflecting the effects of the venom. Then, that night, Spalding himself falls prey to the same deadly creature that killed his brother, though with the help of Valerie and Bailey, he manages to recover. However, they and everyone else in the village are in danger from the horror lurking up in Dr. Franklyn's home, a horror that has followed him ever since he traveled to the Far East in his research of primitive cultures and is destined to torment him for the rest of his days.

John Gilling directed The Reptile immediately after he finished The Plague of the Zombies, both of which were part of the ploy by Hammer to produce four films in rapid succession to maximize profits by keeping costs down and reusing many of the same sets and actors (a ploy that really didn't work, as three of the films went over budget). It was very near the end of Gilling's association with the studio and his directing career in general, which had been marked by a fair amount of controversy. Though he first worked for them back in the 30's and wrote and directed a fair number of films for them, he often clashed with the higher-ups (he'd fallen out with founder James Carreras even before he directed his first film for them), rewrote much of Anthony Hinds' script during production, as he thought it sucked (which might have been payback for Hinds' having rewritten his screenplay for The Gorgon several years before), and had a general reputation for being a very volatile and not particularly pleasant person. In fact, Scream Factory's Blu-Ray release of the film features an interview with William P. Cartlidge, the first assistant director, who comes right out and describes Gilling as a bully, saying that during shooting, he would pick out one specific person and make their day completely miserable. Regardless of his adverse personality, Hammer would bring him back for another film the following year, although it would prove to be his last one for the studio.

The connections between The Reptile and The Plague of the Zombies go far beyond their having the same director, the same sets, and a couple of the same actors (specifically, Michael Ripper and Jacqueline Pearce). In fact, to a certain extent, they both have virtually the same plot, as they each concern a Cornish village being plagued by what initially seems to be a strange and deadly disease but is revealed to be the work of a supernatural curse from a foreign land, one that's been brought over by someone who's now living in the community, meaning that the same theme of colonialism applies here as well. Moreover, the use of the same village set on the backlot could have you believe this is the exact same setting as the one depicted in Plague, if it weren't for Ripper's playing a different character. And finally, these are the only two Hammer films to be set in Cornwall, making for an all the more close link between the two.

Normally, a character like Harry George Spalding (Ray Barrett) would be the good-looking but bland leading man, but he actually makes for a fairly engaging protagonist, as he travels to Clagmoor Heath with his wife following the death of his brother and finds few friendly faces there, as well as a wall of secrecy around what exactly killed his brother. Being a soldier, he refuses to throw his arms up and leave when he finds the cottage ransacked when he and Valerie first arrive, nor does he intend to sell it, as Tom Bailey suggests. Instead, he intends to find out the truth of what's going on, especially after he and his wife befriend Mad Peter, who gives Spalding some hint of what might have happened the night his brother died, only for him to die a grisly death in the cottage later that night. He's convinced that there's a logical explanation for the "Black Death," a view he's held about the many strange things he's witnessed in his travels throughout the world as a soldier, and does manage to get Bailey's help, though not before he and Valerie meet the mysterious Dr. Franklyn and his daughter, Anna, and find themselves quite troubled by the state of their relationship. Afterward, Spalding and Bailey discover that both Charles Spalding and Mad Peter died from bites on their neck and that the condition of their bodies are akin to that of a king cobra, which both of them have seen in their travels to the Far East. But, before he can investigate further, Spalding is lured to Franklyn's home by a letter that seems to be a plea for help from Anna, where he's attacked and bitten by the deadly Reptile. Unlike the other victims, Spalding manages to survive, thanks to his instructing Valerie to cut the venom out of the bite and with Bailey's help in nursing him back to health. But, as a result, he's sidelined for much of the climax, with him and Bailey unable to do more than show up at the burning mansion and save Valerie before she's burned to death.

For most of the movie, Valerie Spalding (Jennifer Daniel) is mostly a bystander, albeit with more personality to her than the average Hammer leading lady, coming off as a devoted wife who shares her husband's determination not to be run off by the strange goings on, as well as a very compassionate person. She's quite fond of Mad Peter, whom she and her husband only know for a brief time before his death, and sympathetic towards Anna Franklyn, whom she feels is being dominated and controlled by her intimidating father. Valerie meets Dr. Franklyn before her husband does and he doesn't make a good first impression, as he barges into the cottage, searching for Anna, and also acts suspiciously evasive towards the subject of Spalding's brother. She's all the more convinced of his and Anna's relationship being an abusive one when she and her husband have dinner with them at their house. In a private moment between them, Anna tells Valerie that her father will try to make them leave the cottage (she turns out to be right, as Franklyn has that conversation with Spalding at that very moment) but asks them not to. Then, Franklyn asks Anna to play the sitar for them, only for him to seemingly become randomly enraged, smash the instrument, and yell at Anna. And the following evening, after they receive a letter that seems to be from Anna, begging them for help, Spalding is poisoned and nearly dies when he heads up to the house to try to save her. Once she and Tom Bailey have managed to nurse him back to health, Valerie walks up to the house to investigate herself and sees Franklyn kill his Malayan servant after a fierce fight. He then chases and traps her in his study, where he tells her the horrific truth of how Anna was made into the Reptile by a cult of snake people as punishment for his researching their secretive religion and that the "servant" was actually part of the cult. A fire that began in the basement due to Franklyn's fight with the Malay starts spreading through the house and Franklyn traps Valerie in his study while he attempts to escape. But, his cursed daughter kills him and nearly kills Valerie, but thanks to her husband and Bailey, who arrive just in time, she manages to escape with her life... as well as her little cat, Catie, whom the Malay had stolen and given to Anna.

We've got a sort of mini-reunion of The Kiss of the Vampire here, as Noel Willman, who played Dr. Ravna in that film, again appears alongside Jennifer Daniel, this time as Dr. Franklyn. Like Ravna, Franklyn is an imposing and sinister figure, but with much less of the charm. A recluse who spends 98% of his screentime in his large mansion, he comes off as controlling and contemptuous towards his daughter, Anna, whom he's angrily searching for her when Valerie Spalding first meets him, pushing past her to investigate the cottage, despite her telling him she hasn't seen anyone. The day after the death of Mad Peter, Franklyn finds Anna at the cottage and angrily admonishes her for going there without his permission. Knowing how he's coming off, he explains to Valerie that it's merely a complicated situation and that he's not as bad as he seems. Upon hearing that Anna has invited the Spaldings to dinner that night, Franklyn allows it, but while there, he tries to talk Harry Spalding into selling the cottage. When he refuses, Franklyn vaguely warns, "If something unpleasant should occur, please remember what I have said." And after dinner, he presses Anna into playing the sitar for the Spaldings, when he suddenly becomes enraged upon her playing a certain tune, to the point where he smashes the sitar, yells at Anna to get out of his sight, and tells the Spaldings not to interfere in matters they don't understand.

As cruel as he seems, it turns out that both Franklyn and his daughter are victims, with their tormentor being the Malayan man in their house who appears to be a servant. Years ago, when he investigated the background of a Malayan cult called the Ourang Sancto, Anna was kidnapped by them out of revenge and then returned to her, transformed into a snake-woman. Franklyn and Anna fled to Cornwall with the hope of escaping the cult's reach, but they've been tracked down and now, they're eternally tortured by the cult member who poses as their servant, using Anna to kill those who get too close or learn too much. Franklyn hates being a party to the murders (he's seen bringing wreaths to put on the graves of both Charles Spalding and Mad Peter, and sincerely hopes that Harry Spalding survived his encounter with Anna) and, though he adored his daughter, is horrified by the monstrous creature she's become and turns into from time to time. At the end of the movie, he tries to end both his and Anna's torment by killing both her and the Malay, but Valerie's sneaking into the house and witnessing his murder of the latter prevents him from doing so. Now almost totally mad, Franklyn tells her the whole story, as well as blames her for keeping him from setting Anna free. When the house catches fire, Franklyn decides to flee himself, leaving both Anna and Valerie in the house to burn. But, while trying to escape he's attacked and bitten by Anna, quickly dying from her deadly venom.

Anna Franklyn (Jacqueline Pearce) is definitely the most pitiable character in the film, as she's a kind, gentle young woman who's been struck with a horrible curse and is used as a pawn to forever torment her father. Because of this, it initially seems like her father is hateful and abusive towards her, when, in fact, he's horrified by the loathsome creature she becomes periodically. She's also under the total control of the Malay, who often sways her to do his bidding, sometimes through the bribery of giving her a little animal, which she loves, as a "pet," and other times through some sort of apparent hypnotic influence, as seen when he makes her play a tune on the sitar and look at her father in a manner that sends him into a rage. As good and innocent a person she herself is, though, as the Reptile, Anna is a deadly creature who's used by the Malay to kill anybody who gets close to uncovering the truth (though, what conditions cause her to randomly become the Reptile are never made clear). She has a pair of long fangs that inject a lethal venom akin to that of a king cobra, and attacks by lunging at her victims from the darkness when they least expect it. Like a snake, she sheds her skin periodically, and is also susceptible to cold, which Franklyn gets around by their staying in a house built over a large sulfur pit, keeping the house warm all through the winter. The cold is what ultimately does her in, as after she kills her father, she tries to go for Valerie but Tom Bailey smashes a window behind her, exposing her to the cold air outside and causing her to die instantly. Eerily, while she seemed like nothing but a mindless monster while in this form, Anna does moan about how cold it is before she dies.

Unfortunately, the Reptile herself is where many of the story's plotholes lie, likely a result of Gilling's last-minute rewriting. For instance, not only is it not explained what triggers Anna to transform into the Reptile at random moments (nor is it explained what exactly the Ourang Sancto did to her as part of this transformation, but that's not a big issue) but, according to Franklyn, the cult made her into one of their own, suggesting that they too can transform into deadly snake-monsters, which makes you wonder why the Malay himself doesn't do so and why he's not vulnerable to the cold. Also, Anna's shedding her skin like an actual snake seems to serve no purpose in the plot, other than for one vaguely disturbing moment where Franklyn finds the husk of her skin in her bed, and it also doesn't make sense anyway, given her going back and forth between human and Reptile (I think it would have been far more disturbing had she shed the skin of her human form every time she changed).

The design of the Reptile;s makeup by Roy Ashton really helps to make her one of Hammer's most memorable monsters, right up there with Christopher Lee's creature in The Curse of Frankenstein, Lee's Count Dracula, Kharis the Mummy, and Oliver Reed's werewolf in The Curse of the Werewolf. It may not be totally realistic, as the skin and eyes do look a bit plasticy from some angles, and Anna's still having her long hair growing out of the scaly head and wearing her a dress comes off as a bit silly, but, overall, I think it's a really cool-looking creature makeup, with the scales (which were molded from real snakeskin), the fangs, and the bulging, red eyes. It would prove to be Ashton's last really memorable monster creation for Hammer, as he would officially leave the studio after this film to work freelance, leading to just a few more films for them afterward.

He has very few lines and not much screentime, but the unnamed Malay (Marne Maitland) is the true villain of the film, representing a much bigger evil hanging over the village and the Franklyns, specifically. Seemingly a sinister-looking servant, one who often keeps tabs on Anna and appears to have some sort of influence on her, it's gradually revealed that the Malay is actually of the Ourang Sancto cult, having traced Dr. Franklyn and Anna to Cornwall to ensure that they are eternally punished for Franklyn's prying into their secretive ways with his research. He clearly takes a sadistic pleasure in the complete control he has over them, teasing Anna with the promise of a kitten and forcing her to kneel before finally giving it to her and telling Dr. Franklyn, when he tries to leave with Anna, "You will not leave until I say you can leave... You know what it is to stop you." Franklyn then threatens to kill him and he counters, "Possibly, but you could never be free then, could you? You will be punished to the end of your miserable life. And what will happen to little Anna then?" The main aspect of his control is using Anna to kill anyone who comes close to discovering the truth, often by luring them to the mansion by leaving a note claiming to be her begging for help, as happens to both Charles and Harry Spalding. When Franklyn's intervention allows the latter to escape after he's bitten, the Malay warns him that if Spalding survives, he will go to the police, putting both him and his daughter in danger. Refusing to give Franklyn a moment's peace, again seeming to delight in how he can't do anything about it, telling, "No, I will not leave you alone, and you will do as I tell you, do you hear me?" He orders him to go learn if Spalding did survive the bite, suggesting that he will have Anna finish him off should he still be alive. Told by Tom Bailey that Spalding died, Franklyn, unaware that it's a lie, is prompted to try to end his and Anna's suffering, resulting in a fierce struggle between him and the Malay in the cellar, which ends in the latter getting thrown into a boiling sulfur pit.

Thanks to John Gilling's admiration for him, Michael Ripper received one of his best roles in any Hammer horror film here, as Tom Bailey, the pub-owner. A kind, neighborly man, Bailey is the one true friend the Spaldings make when they arrive in Clagmoor Heath, not suspicious or distrusting of them like the villagers, and becomes quite close with Harry Spalding, even though he twice causes him to lose all of his patrons by his presence in the pub. His having known and liked Charles Spalding is an incentive in his friendliness towards his brother, whom he initially suggests sell the cottage and get out while he can, and when he refuses to do so, Bailey then merely warns him to be careful and often gives him and his wife provisions. Following the death of Mad Peter, Bailey has a talk with Spalding, where he reveals himself to not be someone who believes there's a rational explanation to everything, telling him, "I was a professional seaman, and I, too, have knocked around the world a bit, and I've seen things that your logic could not explain away." He also tells him he isn't going to endanger the nice life he's made for himself by trying to find out the cause behind the deaths, admitting, "Yes, I'm frightened. For the first time in my life, I'm frightened." He's not even angry when Spalding flat-out says he's frightened, telling him, "You had every right to say it." But, eventually, Bailey comes around and agrees to help Spalding. To that end, he digs up Peter's body and examines it, discovering two bite marks on the back of the neck that suggest an attack by a fanged animal. He then talks Spalding into digging up his brother, and when they do, they find the same marks on his neck. Moreover, both men recognize the bite marks and condition of the bodies as the symptoms of a king cobra-like bite. After that, Spalding falls prey to the Reptile, struck with her deadly venom, and while Valerie is able to cut out the poison, she brings in Bailey when Spalding becomes delirious the next morning. His delirium soon passes and Bailey stays with them throughout the morning, fixing them cocoa with a sedative mixed in and, most significantly, tells Dr. Franklyn that Spalding died when he comes to inquire about him, as he grew suspicious about Franklyn's involvement after seeing him at Peter's grave the night before. That evening, he returns to check on them, only to find that Valerie has gone. Knowing she went to the Franklyn house, he and Spalding rush up there and arrive in time to save her from the burning house, with Bailey himself inadvertently killing the Reptile by exposing her to the cold night air when he breaks a window.

Mad Peter (John Laurie) can definitely be described as the village weirdo, as he introduces himself to Harry Spalding by jumping him near Larkrise one night, and then accusing him of being the attacker. He reveals having known Spalding's brother, saying that "they" killed him and claiming that one can hear them if they were to listen. He also feigns that Spalding seriously hurt him and asks him for a drink as a way of making it better, which leads to Spalding inviting him to have dinner with him and Valerie, mainly because he wants him to talk. After scarfing down as much food as he possibly can, Peter is then prodded into telling them what he knows. But first, he tells them something about himself in order to convince them that what he's about to tell them isn't the product of a deranged mind: "I'm not mad, you know? They call me 'Mad Peter' because I find it difficult to grasp some of the things which seem to be so important nowadays: like being able to make money. But I'm not mad. Just a little vague, and sensitive." He then goes on to proclaim, "This is an evil place! Corrupt and evil! I can feel it taking the goodness from me. It hasn't always been so. When I came here... ten... fifteen... or was it twenty years ago?... it was a good place. People were kind, gentle, as God willed they should be. And then... then, they came, bringing their vileness with them." Once again, he doesn't specify who "they" are, and becomes frightened and frantic when he hears the distant sound of oriental-style music, which Spalding himself comes to hear. He tells them that it's an omen of death, that he heard it the night Charles Spalding died, but runs out of the cottage before Spalding can make him explain further. Later, he comes back in the night, dying of the "Black Death," his last words prompting Spalding to go fetch Dr. Franklyn. Franklyn is reluctant to come, as he's not a doctor of medicine, and when the two of them head back to the cottage, Peter has already died. However, Tom Bailey digs his body up after the burial and finds the telltale puncture marks on the back of his neck that they also find on the neck of Spalding's brother.

Hammer regular Charles Lloyd-Pack has a brief role here as the village vicar, who's seen presiding over the burial of Charles Spalding and the funeral of Mad Peter, and George Woodbridge also appears here as Old Garnsey, who delivers the Spaldings' luggage but storms out of the inn when Spalding accuses him of having something to do with the cottage being ransacked. While Lloyd-Park would appear in another Hammer film, this would prove to be Woodbridge's final role for the studio after appearing in a good number of their movies, especially their Gothic horrors.

In case you couldn't tell, between the two of them, I prefer The Reptile over The Plague of the Zombies, as it tells the same basic story in a manner that appeals more to my personal sensibilities. I can get into these characters more, particularly Dr. Franklyn and Tom Bailey; I think the Malay is a more effective and creepy villain than Squire Hamilton, especially in the sadistic iron grip he has on Franklyn and Anna; and I find the concept of a cult of snake people and their curse being brought to Cornwall by someone who made the mistake of prying into their rituals to be more interesting, as it's not your typical sort of threat in a Gothic horror. I will admit that in Plague, you get a better sense of the effect the horror is having on the inhabitants on the village, both in those who become zombies and their loved ones having to watch this happen to him, whereas here, it's led to them merely shunning any strangers who arrive, with the exception of Bailey, and few attendees for a Black Death victim's funeral, but, again, the unending personal torture of Franklyn and Anna just gets to me more. And, while Plague was Hammer's only zombie film, and was made before they became a dime-a-dozen thanks to the success of Night of the Living Dead, you don't see too many movies featuring characters who are half-human and half-snake, especially not around this time (the only other movie that comes close is a fairly obscure Universal horror film called Cult of the Cobra, and that didn't feature creature makeup like this). In fact, this was really the last Hammer Gothic to feature a different sort of monster, as from here on out, they would mainly stick to their Frankenstein and Dracula franchises, other vampire movies, a couple of more Mummy films, and another take of the Jekyll and Hyde story.

While the day-for-night cinematography here is even more egregious than that seen in The Plague of the Zombies, barely looking like nighttime at all (especially during the opening), cinematographer Arthur Grant makes up for it with some very lush, beautiful cinematography overall, the best of which is the way he lights the interiors during nighttime scenes, often putting in a lot of deep blue lighting streaming in through the windows, very akin to what Dean Cundey would use in his movies with John Carpenter a decade or so later. Production-design wise, the film, as noted, extensively recycles the sets built for Plague, the same way Rasputin, the Mad Monk did many of the sets made for Dracula: Prince of Darkness. Notably, the Cornish village on the Bray backlot is virtually unchanged from the way it looked in Plague, right down to the small cemetery where some significant scenes take place, and the same is true for the interior pub set, the use of Frensham Ponds in Farnham, Surrey for the moors and Oakley Court for the exterior of Dr. Franklyn's home, and the main sitting room of Franklyn's house, which is clearly the same set used for the interior of Squire Hamilton's house, just with different furniture (also, the interior of Larkrise cottage is not unlike what we've seen from such sets in past films, like The Gorgon). However, there are some new sets to be found here, mainly within Franklyn's home, which we see more of than we did Hamilton's. We get to see a little bit of the dining room, a confined room where a bunch of small animals, Anna's "pets," are kept in cages, and Franklyn's study, the memorable centerpiece of which is his desk with a stuffed cobra in a strike position sitting on it. The upstairs is a familiar set of corridors, decorated with old pictures, exotic-looking flowers, and with two notable rooms: Anna's bedroom and a secret panel she emerges from in order to catch her victims off-guard. But, the most memorable original set in the film is the cellar of the house, full of cobwebs and old furniture and other items, and which then leads down into a catacomb-like chamber with a bubbling sulfur pit, which Anna sleeps next to after having shed her skin (likely, this is the same set used for the ceremonial chamber in Plague).

Though there's no blood in The Reptile to speak of, the makeup used to depict the effects of the creature's venom is quite disgusting, with the face and hands turning black and swollen, portions of the skin turning a sickly green, redness appearing around the eyes, and lots of foam spewing out of the mouth, all as the victim is choking and gagging. However, one scene that may have originally been bloodier than what's in the film is a moment when, after he's been bitten, Spalding tells Valerie to cut the bite open. It's believed there was a shot of the knife-blade slicing open the bite wound but that the BBFC forced them to cut it before allowing the film to be released. As for actual special effects, there's one impressive mock-up of Oakley Court that was built at Bray and used for the fiery climax.

The movie opens on Charles Spalding hiking his way through the hills near the village of Clagmoor Heath one "night," unaware that he's being watched by someone (the fact that you can see his stalker's shadow on the ground is proof that this was done during the daytime, unless you want to make the excuse that it's a full moon). Though he hears the distant sound of oriental-style flute music playing, he pays it no mind and heads on to the cottage of Larkrise. Walking through the front door, he finds a note on the table and, after reading it, glances out the window and up to the large mansion nearby. He promptly makes his way up there, knocks on the front door, and enters. He calls but receives no response from anyone, and then heads up the stairs, rounds the corner up there, and walks down the hall, until he reaches the door at the end. He's about to knock, when someone yells for him to get away from the door. Turning, he sees Dr. Franklyn standing at the end of the hall, desperately yelling for him to get away. Confused, Spalding approaches him as he yells at him, when he's suddenly grabbed from behind by a dark figure that emerges from a spot to his left and is apparently injured in the side of his neck, as he grabs at it. His attacker disappears, as Spalding staggers down the hallway, coughing and gasping as his skin starts to turn black. Franklyn tries to help him but he starts foaming wildly at the mouth and falls down the stairs, dying about as soon as he reaches the bottom. A Malayan man comes running in and quickly inspects Spalding's body, confirming that he's dead. He and Franklyn exchange looks, and the latter picks up and looks at the dropped note on the floor that lured Spalding to his death. Spalding's body is then carried to the village's small cemetery and dropped there by the Malay, who quickly flees the scene before he's spotted.

Following the opening credits, the film cuts to the next morning, where Mad Peter sees Spalding's body being taken away in a coffin. Tom Bailey emerges from his pub and dumps some water out of a bucket, when he sees what's going on. Standing beside Peter, he asks who it is and Peter tells him, adding, "They found him this morning, just like the others. He won't be the last. You'll see." Peter then walks off and Bailey watches them lower the coffin into the ground as the vicar reads a prayer, before going back to his work. Later, after Spalding has been buried and a grave-marker placed there, Franklyn makes his way to the cemetery and puts a wreath atop the grave. The movie then cuts to Harry George Spalding being bequeathed everything his brother owned by a solicitor, with his wife, Valerie, sitting beside him. He's told that his brother was far from a wealthy man and that his shareholdings are worthless. The solicitor is then surprised when they tell him they're planning on making Larkrise a permanent home, given its limited accommodations, but gives them the key, nonetheless. Before they leave, Spalding asks the solicitor if he was told how his brother died. The solicitor tells him it was reported as heart failure, which Spalding finds hard to believe, saying he was, "As strong as an ox." To that, the solicitor tells him, "Even an ox's heart fails eventually." Not really caring, he rushes to get the two of them out of there, once more giving them the cottage's address.

The couple take the train to Clagmoor Heath, but find no one at the station, meaning they'll have to walk the two miles to the village and cottage, and forcing them to send for their luggage later, though Valerie decides to bring her little cat, Catie, with her in her carrying case. Arriving at the village, the two of them visit Charles' grave and then attempt to find someone to give them directions to Larkrise. After encountering Mad Peter when he storms out of the pub, ranting, but immediately acting pleasant when he sees them, before quickly heading on his way, Spalding goes into the pub to ask the patrons there. But, everyone he tries to speak to gives him the cold shoulder and walks out. Bailey then emerges and, seeing that everyone has left, immediately knows what's happened, telling Spalding that the villagers don't care for strangers. Still acting friendly and accommodating, he asks Spalding how he can help him and he asks for directions to Larkrise. Learning he's Charles Spalding's brother, and that he and his wife plan to live there permanently, Bailey suggests they sell it and leave instead. But, when Spalding makes it obvious he isn't going to consider that, Bailey gives him clear directions and he heads out to rejoin his wife. The two of them make their way to the cottage and are taken with it when they find it, as it does have a quaint, cozy charm to it. Unlocking the front door, Spalding picks Valerie up bridal style and carries her over the threshold, only to then find that the place has been completely ransacked, with everything tossed about. Spalding rushes upstairs and finds the bedroom there is in the same shape. He heads back down and apologizes profusely to Valerie, who, though clearly stifling some tears, says they'd better get busy and put the place back into shape.

Later, when Bailey's pub is full of a bunch of singing and drinking patrons, Spalding comes storming in and the singing and music stop dead. Saying the cottage has been wrecked, he demands that anyone who had a problem with his brother come on and admit it so they can settle things. Nobody speaks up, when Bailey comes out again and tells Spalding that his luggage is in the back. Garnsey, the man who Bailey credits with delivering the luggage, tells Spalding that none of them touched the cottage and he leaves, saying he doesn't drink with people who falsely accuse him. Everyone else follows suit, much to Bailey's dismay. Spalding can only apologize and Bailey suggests, "I think you better buy a drink for yourself before you bankrupt me." He proceeds to start cleaning up, telling Spalding he's as stubborn and obstinate as his brother, adding that that attitude didn't turn out so well for him. Bailey further advises him, "Just be careful. Very careful," and Spalding, in turn, suggests he have a drink himself, while he also buys one, as he suggested. Back at the cottage, Valerie has gotten a fire going and heads out to get some water from the pump. She hears the sound of footsteps and calls for her husband, only to get no response. Behind her, Dr. Franklyn emerges from the bushes and stands right off to her side, startling her when she turns around and sees him. He quickly introduces himself, saying that his home is the large house on the other side of the moor, and asks her is she's seen anyone around. Though she says she hasn't, Franklyn, nevertheless, marches into the cottage, proclaiming, "Unfortunately, it has not been my experience that everyone invariably tells the truth, Mrs. Spalding. Even my own daughter sometimes lies to me." He then admits that it's his daughter he's looking for. Satisfied that she's not there, he prepares to leave, when Valerie asks him how he knows who she is. He says that he makes a point of knowing what goes on in the village, and admits that he knows of Charles' death, but that he didn't know him and is unaware of what he died from. With that, he departs.

After Bailey loans him a horse-drawn cart and some provisions, Spalding heads back to the cottage. The horse stops on the dirt road leading across the moors and Spalding disembarks, hearing the same oriental music in the distance that his brother did. He walks a short distance and then turns around to head back to the cart, when he's suddenly jumped from behind. He falls to the ground with his assailant and the two of them roll about, Spalding easily managing to overpower the man and get on top. It turns out to be Mad Peter, who yells at Spalding and accuses him of being the attacker, saying he could have broken his fragile bones. Peter then tells him that he knows he's the brother of Charles Spalding, whom he describes as, "The one they killed," before formally introducing himself as Peter Crawford, also telling him of his popular nickname, saying they call him mad, "Only because I don't conform." Spalding asks him to explain what he means when he says "they" killed his brother and Peter asks him if he didn't hear them right then. He motions for him to shush, saying, "You'll hear them again," but as they sit there, they hear nothing, to which Peter comments, "Funny. They were here a moment ago." Spalding starts to lose his patience but Peter goes on to complain about a possibly broken bone and asks him for either some whiskey or coffee. Spalding figures he might as well invite Peter over for dinner and helps him to his feet and to the cart. Peter tells him, "I hate to tell you how long ago it is since I ate," and the film immediately cuts to him cleaning every last bit of chicken meat off of some bones at their dinner table, even going as far as to take one leg from Spalding's plate. Once he's done eating, Spalding tries to get Peter to explain what he was talking about earlier but, just when he starts to, after telling them a little bit about himself, the music from before is heard again. Peter hears it immediately, shouting, "Listen... Listen, damn you!", and after some straining, Spalding himself hears it too. Peter says, "It means death," and tells Spalding he heard it the night his brother died. He rushes for the door, and though Spalding tries to stop him, demanding he tell him what he means, he manages to break free and disappear into the night outside. Walking back into the cottage, Spalding finds that Valerie is frightened and embraces her, saying they could leave if it would make her feel better, but she opts to stay. All she asks is that he not leave her by herself again.

Late in the night, Spalding is awakened by the sound of rustling outside. He lights a candle on the nightstand and gets out of bed, waking up Valerie. Telling her he heard something, he heads downstairs, with her following. On the stairs, Spalding looks at the front door and sees Peter tapping on the window from outside, his face and the sound of him gasping and gagging revealing that he's in bad shape. Spalding rushes outside and asks Peter what's wrong but he's unable to speak and so, Spalding helps him inside. Telling Valerie who it is, Spalding leads Peter over to a chair in the corner, as he gags loudly and tries to speak. Valerie lights a candle and they then see how horrific his condition is, as his face is black, with patches of green on his forehead, red around his eyes, and foaming at the mouth. Spalding goes to grab his coat, planning to go search for a doctor, while Valerie fetches some water for Peter. Peter manages to mutter, "Dr. Franklyn," and when Valerie tells him who that is and where he lives, Spalding rushes out the door, while Valerie cleans the foam off of Peter's mouth. Spalding heads straight for Franklyn's home and rushes through the front door. He calls for Franklyn, who immediately appears on the stairway, and tells him what's happening. Franklyn coldly responds, "What is that to do with me?", and when Spalding is confused by that, Franklyn clarifies that he's a doctor of theology rather than medicine. Spalding, regardless, implores him to come, saying, "I know absolutely nothing about medicine," and Franklyn reluctantly agrees, adding, "But you must clearly understand that my knowledge is also limited." By the time they make it back to the cottage, it's clear that Peter has died. Asking what he thinks could have happened, Franklyn says he probably had a seizure, and reiterates that he doesn't know anything about medicine, saying that he knows Peter was subject to such fits and exclaims, "Please do not force me to express opinions I am not qualified to give!" He goes on to say that he'll make the necessary arrangements and, on his way out, tells them, "I shall not wish you a 'good night,' as you're scarcely likely to have one after your experience. But, I will express my regret that your arrival here should have been so... unpleasant." He then leaves and, realizing it wouldn't be a good idea to leave Peter's body in their dining room, Spalding decides to put him out in the backyard instead. He drags the body through the kitchen and out the door, lying him down out there and covering him with a blanket before heading back in. Once he's back inside, the Malayan man from before appears and takes a quick look at Peter's body.

The next day, Peter is buried in the graveyard, with the Spaldings, Bailey, and a few other villagers in attendance. Once the service is over, Bailey tells Valerie that, although Peter had a number of friends, few of them would come because he died of the "Black Death." Bailey invites them into his pub for a bit and, while Valerie says she must rush back to the cottage to prepare dinner, Spalding does take Bailey up on his offer. In the pub, as they share a drink, they talk about the Black Death and how many people it's claimed, with Bailey telling Spalding he feels it's something that can't be logically explained. But, even though he was quite fond of both Charles and Peter, he's not going to try to find out what really killed them, as he doesn't want to lose the nice life he's made for himself. Knowing that he's on his own in this matter, Spalding leaves. Meanwhile, on her way back to Larkrise, Valerie finds a steel animal trap on the ground and tosses it into a large puddle of water nearby; a cutaway reveals that the Malay is watching her. She then reaches the cottage and walks through the front door, only to be surprised when she sees there are flowers everywhere. A young, dark-haired woman emerges from the kitchen and says that she meant it as a welcome, a way to get rid of the bad memory of what happened. She then introduces herself as Anna Franklyn, the daughter of Dr. Franklyn, and Valerie then offers her a cup of coffee, which she accepts. Anna mentions that her father grew the flowers, and when Valerie says that she found him to be rather intimidating, Anna mutters, "But he was... he was a very good man." She then asks if she and her husband will have dinner with them that night and she says they would like to, even though Franklyn would be there. Anna asks to help and Valerie sends her out to the front yard to fetch some water. She goes out to the pump, but just as she's about to work it, she looks and sees the Malay glaring at her. Terrified by him, she runs back inside and closes the door behind her. Visibly upset, she tells Valerie that she must go and she shows her to the door, only to open it and find Franklyn standing there. He immediately admonishes Anna for coming there without his permission, and also tells Valerie to mind her own business when she says something about it. He then says, "I realize the sort of image I have created of myself, Mrs. Spalding, but, believe me, things are neither as simple or as straightforward as they may seem... I am not really an ogre, Mrs. Spalding." That's when Valerie brings up that they've been invited to dine with him that night and Franklyn, at his daughter's urging, says, "Until tonight, Mrs. Spalding." He then has Anna leave with him.

The film cuts to that night, as Spalding and Valerie are sitting in Franklyn's sitting room, talking, although Spalding finds it uncomfortable, as it's quite hot in the house. Franklyn says he keeps the house very warm because it reminds him of his and Anna's travels, as he explored the various, primitive religions of the East. He serves them a little more wine, when the Malay emerges from a door off to the right of the room, indicating that dinner is ready. As they head into the dining room, they're told that Anna is being punished and won't be joining them. Right before he heads into the room, Spalding looks and sees Anna standing at the top of the stairs, though she quickly ducks back around the corner. They then have dinner (the film subtly dissolves from them sitting down to them leaving the room when they're finished) and, afterward, Franklyn calls for Anna, telling her she may join them now. She comes downstairs and is formally introduced to Spalding, when Franklyn presses her to show Valerie her collection of animals, which he refers to as her "pets." Though Anna seems reluctant to do so, Valerie expresses interest and so, she leads her through a door off to the side. Franklyn then lights himself a cigar and asks Spalding if he may speak frankly. In the room containing Anna's pets, Valerie finds that it's full of a number of small cages containing all sorts of animals like doves, rabbits, and such. Anna closes the door and tells her that her father will try to force them to leave Larkrise and pleads with her not to do so. It then quickly cuts to Spalding telling Franklyn that he has no intention of leaving and Franklyn advises him to remember that he warned them, should anything happen. When Anna and Valerie rejoin them, Franklyn suggests Anna play something for them, describing her as a brilliant musician. Anna hesitates but, with some more prodding, acquiesces and grabs a sitar sitting in the corner. She sits down in the floor in the middle of them and begins playing, proving her father to be correct in his description of her talent. But, as the Malay watches from the shadows nearby, he appears to influence her into playing a certain tune, as well as to glance at her father in a manner that causes him to tense up and sit forward in his chair. Her playing and glances continuously intensify until, suddenly, Franklyn explodes in anger, yelling at her to stop, and grabs and smashes the sitar. He then yells at her to get out of his sight and she runs upstairs, while he throws the remains of the sitar into the fireplace. Spalding comments, "Dr. Franklyn, I know it's not my place to interfere..." and Franklyn cuts him off, saying, "Then, please don't." He and Valerie promptly leave, as Franklyn stands there, panting.

Up in her bedroom, Anna sits on her bed, extremely upset, when the Malay comes in, carrying a small black cat, namely Catie. Anna is immediately taken with the cat and walks to take her, but the Malay forces her to get down on her knees and taunts her before he hands Catie over. The cat in her arms, Anna walks over to the bed and cuddles her, as the Malay leaves the room. Over at Larkrise, Spalding and Valerie are unable to figure out what happened to Catie, since the cottage was locked up. With no other choice, they go to bed, Spalding blowing out the lantern on the table and telling Valerie that he left the door ajar for Catie. Back at the Franklyn house, Franklyn bursts into Anna's room and, seeing Catie, takes her from Anna. For a split-second, it looks as though he's going to toss her into the fireplace but, instead, he merely tosses her into a chair near it. He opens the wardrobe and tells Anna to start packing, saying they're leaving, when the Malay appears and tells them they're not going anywhere until he says so, which he makes clear he has no intention of ever doing. When Franklyn threatens him, he says he would never be free if he did kill him, and that Anna's fate would be uncertain as well. With no recourse, and with the Malay telling him his suffering will never end, Franklyn throws aside the dress he had in his hand and storms out of the room. The Malay grimly intones, "Good night, Anna," and follows Franklyn out, closing the door behind him.

The next morning, Bailey arrives at Larkrise with some more provisions for the Spaldings, and he accepts an invitation by Valerie to have breakfast with them. When he and Spalding are alone, Bailey tells him that he's decided to help him in finding out the cause of the Black Death. He then asks him to come to the pub that night, as late as possible. That night, it's pouring rain when Spalding makes his way into the village and Bailey lets him into the pub. He leads him to the parlor in the back, where Spalding is shocked to see that he's dug up Peter's body, explaining that he wanted to examine him (in that shot with the body in the foreground, you can see John Laurie take a breath and move his eyebrows at several points). They then lift up the body and Bailey points out two bite marks on the back of the neck, which look as if they were made by an animal with fangs. Bailey next suggests they dig up and examine Charles' body, and in the next scene, they roll Peter's body to the cemetery and place him back in his grave. Bailey prepares to rebury him, while Spalding is forced to start digging up his brother's grave. At Larkrise, Valerie anxiously waits for her husband to return, unaware that she's being watched from outside by the Malay when she slips into the dining room to pour herself a drink. She returns to the sitting room and sits in a chair, when she gets the feeling that she's not alone. She hears something and walks to the side door, but doesn't see anyone outside when she opens it up. Ducking back inside, she then sees that someone slipped a note through the mail slot and places it on the table, a closeup showing that it's addressed to, "Mr. Spalding." Back at the cemetery, Bailey finishes reburying Peter, saying, "Sorry, old lad. I won't disturb you again." He then walks over to Spalding, who unearths his brother's coffin and opens the lid, recoiling at the sight of how bad his face looks. Bailey gets down in the grave and inspects the side of the neck, finding the same bite-marks. He tells Spalding that and, when asked if he's ever seen anything like that, Spalding glances at it and says that it reminds him of someone who he'd seen bitten by a king cobra in India. Bailey concurs, as he's seen the same thing, but Spalding finds it hard to believe that such a thing could happen in England. Satisfied at what he's seen, Bailey sends him home, while he prepares to clear everything up. When he gets back to the cottage, Valerie, after helping him remove his raincoat, shows him the note addressed to him. Opening it up, he finds that it reads, "For God's sake, help me," and has Anna's signature. At the cemetery, Bailey finishes covering up Charles' grave, when he hears someone coming and hides. Watching from the side of the small stairway, he's surprised to see Dr. Franklyn walk down, place a wreath on Peter's grave, and take off his hat to show his respect. He then leaves just as suddenly as he showed up, with Bailey continuing to watch him. Back at the cottage, Spalding decides to go and take Anna away, and he and Valerie share a kiss before he heads out the door.

Approaching the house, Spalding decides to sneak through the window rather than go through the front door. He climbs through and into a small corridor that leads down to a pair of double-doors. Beyond them, Spalding finds the room filled with the animals Anna showed Valerie earlier. He's surprised when he finds Catie in one of the cages and goes to let her out, only to find a padlock on the front of the cage. He then hears something in the room beyond and walks in there and trips over a small leg-rest on the floor, causing him to fall forward. The image of a cobra comes at him from the dark but it turns out to be nothing but a stuffed one sitting on the desk in the middle of this study. Composing himself, Spalding heads out of the study and into the hallway beyond. He calls for Anna but receives no response and decides to walk upstairs, unaware that the Malay is watching from nearby. He rounds a corner and heads down the same corridor his brother did, when Anna emerges behind him in her Reptile form. Franklyn appears and yells for Spalding to watch out, when turns around and sees the creature hissing at him. Before he has time to react, she lunges at him and bites him on the neck. He recoils away from her and staggers back down the stairs, while the Reptile retreats. Grabbing at the bite on his neck and gasping, Spalding manages to make it out the door, much to the anger of the Malay, who storms upstairs and strikes Franklyn across the face. Spalding makes it back to Larkrise, stumbles through the front door and calls for Valerie. He sits down at the table and lays himself across it as she comes down. He tells her to get a knife and, when she does, instructs to cut deep into the wound. Once that task is done, she cleans the wound and helps him upstairs and into bed. He passes out almost immediately.

The Malay chastises Franklyn for interfering, telling him that it could spell the end for him and Anna should Spalding go to the police. Though Franklyn says he doesn't care, the Malay orders him to go and find out if Spalding survived, and he indicates that he'll let the Reptile have another go at him if he did. Meanwhile, Valerie rushes into the village and pounds on the door to Bailey's pub, calling for him. Looking out the window up top, Bailey sees that it's her and comes right down when she says she needs his help. As they speed back to Larkrise in the cart, Spalding is shown thrashing about in his bed, both in pain and suffering from delirium, yelling for Valerie in a panic. When she and Bailey arrive, they hear him yelling and rush upstairs. He immediately calms and Bailey has a look at the bite on his neck. Examining his eyes as well, he figures that Spalding is over the worst of it, when he hears something outside. Looking out the window, he sees Dr. Franklyn coming and heads downstairs to deal with him. He answers the door for him and, when he asks to speak with Spalding, Bailey tells him that he died an hour ago. Franklyn then tries to enter to give his condolences to Valerie but Bailey advises him not to, saying he died of the Black Death and that he'll give her the message. With that, Franklyn leaves. Bailey heads upstairs and suggests they leave Spalding alone for a while, guiding her downstairs. He starts a kettle brewing, while she tells him about the note Spalding received that seemed to be Anna asking for help. A brief cutaway shows the Malay doing a chant at Anna's bedside, as she writhes around under the sheets, still in her Reptile form.

Bailey whips up a couple of cups of hot cocoa and mixes a sedative into both of them. Finding that Valerie isn't in the dining room, he heads upstairs with one of the cups. Up in the bedroom, Valerie is talking with Spalding about what happened, but he finds his memory ends at the point where he went upstairs in the Franklyn house, and can't remember if he saw Anna or not. Bailey walks in and has Spalding drink the cocoa he's made. He then leaves to open up the pub and says he'll be back that evening to check on both of them. Once she's alone, Valerie again looks at the note that was supposedly from Anna, while up at the Franklyn home, Franklyn, having returned, enters Anna's bedroom, only to be repelled at the sight of a full-body husk of her shed skin lying on her bed, still inside her nightgown. Horrified and angry, Franklyn takes his cane to the husk and smashes it until he's out of breath and exits the room. He heads downstairs, entering a door that leads down into the cellar, which itself eventually opens up into a large catacomb that contains a bubbling sulfur pit. Seeing a figure lying beside it under a blanket, he approaches and lifts the edge of the blanket with his cane, revealing the sleeping Reptile. He then places the blanket back on her and limps out of the chamber.

Meanwhile, after having read the note, Valerie makes her way up to the house, under the Malay's ever watchful eye. Just as her husband did, she enters through the window around the side (which is still open from the previous night) and heads down the corridor, through the room containing the pets, only to find that they've all been removed, and opens the door to the study. She finds Franklyn asleep in a chair and quietly ducks back into the room; Franklyn then awakes, slowly rises from the chair, and removes a katana sword from the wall. He enters the sitting room and makes his way back down to the cellar, with Valerie following his trail. Reentering the catacomb, he walks over to where Anna sleeps beside the sulfur pit and is about to bring the sword down on her, when he spies the row of little cages containing the small animals from upstairs, now stacked against the wall to the right of Anna. He climbs up there and lets all of the animals out, including Catie. Once he's done, he again prepares to end Anna's cursed existence, when the Malay enters from another tunnel and charges at him, dropping his lantern in the straw strewn about the floor. The two of them get into a violent struggle, with the Malay managing to force Franklyn to drop the sword and dodges his attempt to cane him, grabbing him around the neck from behind. The fire started by the lantern quickly spreads behind them, while the fight brings them to the edge of the sulfur pit as they roll about, trying to overpower each other. Initially, the Malay gains the upper-hand, lying atop Franklyn and choking him with both hands, but Franklyn manages to roll them over so he's the one who's prevailing. Two more such turnabouts and Franklyn is able to get a firm grip on the Malay's neck and toss him into the sulfur. At that moment, Valerie finds her way into the chamber and screams at the sight of this. She runs off back the way she came, but Franklyn chases after her, managing to grab onto her arm when they reach the stairs leading back up to the first floor. Though she pushes him off and runs, he's able to chase her down again and drags her into his study, closing and locking the door behind them. He prevents her from escaping out the other door, saying, "Before I leave this house, I must tell you about Anna. She lies down there in the cavern. That vile thing under the blanket is my daughter, Anna! Oh, not the Anna you know. Not that lovely girl. Not that lovely girl, but a hideous parody of herself! A loathsome thing!" He angrily smacks the stuffed cobra off his desk, exclaiming, "Using her body! My daughter! My lovely Anna! But for you, I would have released her from her misery! You!" Frightened, as Franklyn raises his cane during his ranting, Valerie tries to flee but he stops her, yelling, "No! You're not leaving!"

He further elaborates, "She was my only happiness, my dearest possession, and they knew it. They knew that was the way to punish me. I have told you of the years I spent in the East, investigating their primitive religions. There was one particular religious cult that kept evading me, Mrs. Spalding. Like the leopard people of Africa, this was a secret society, and their secret jealously guarded. The Ourang Sancto, the snake people. Few people have heard of it outside of Borneo, and there, they never dare speak of it. It took a long time and a great deal of patience to discover their secret, but I managed it, and returned to Singapore to write up my investigations. A few weeks later, Anna disappeared. It is not unusual in Malaya and I awaited the usual ransom note from Chinese bandits. None came. Three weeks later, she was returned unhurt, apparently with no idea what had happened to her. And then, it all began, Mrs. Spalding. They had their revenge. Anna was one of them. As soon as I realized what had happened, I got her as far away from their influence as possible. I brought here in the hope it would help weaken their hold, and because the sulfur streams could keep her warm in the winter. You see, every winter, Anna sheds her skin, like a reptile, and goes into a deep sleep. The cold would kill her. It was useless. They followed me here, Mrs. Spalding. I was not allowed a moment's peace. And wherever we go, they will still follow us." Valerie then sees smoke seeping in from under the door and warns Franklyn of the fire, to which he says, "Fire? Yes. It will keep her warm. It will warm her." Valerie rushes to the door, yelling for him to let her out, but he tells her she must stay. Meanwhile, down in the catacomb, the fire causes the Reptile to stir beneath the blanket.

At Larkrise, Spalding is awakened by the sound of Bailey knocking on the front door downstairs and he realizes that Valerie isn't around. Bailey enters the dining room but finds no sign of Valerie, and also finds that the cocoa with the sedative hasn't been touched and notices the note Valerie was talking about. Spalding then sits up in bed and calls for Valerie, sending Bailey running upstairs. Back at the Franklyn house, by this point, the fire has spread to the first floor and smoke is billowing out the front. In the study, Franklyn locks the room's back door and tells the frantic, screaming Valerie that there's no one to hear her. Ignoring her pleas not to leave her, he packs a satchel, while down in the catacomb, the Reptile awakens, removes the blanket, and heads upstairs. With everything packed, Franklyn heads to the door, pushing Valerie off of him and slipping out, locking it. He heads down the hall and finds the Reptile waiting for him after he stumbles through the smoke. Stopping and touching her face for a moment, he then tries to walk past her, only for her to grab him from behind and bite him in the neck. He then staggers away and turns and looks at her, his face now black and foam building around his mouth, before he collapses to the floor. All this time, Valerie has been pounding on the door and calling for help. She then runs to the window in the back of the room but finds no way to open it. She hears the key in the door-lock jiggling and, as the lantern on the desk goes out, the door slowly opens, revealing the Reptile. Horrified, Valerie backs up against the window, while outside, her husband and Bailey rush to the burning house. The Reptile attempts to corner her but she manages to evade her grasp, only to get cornered at the end of the desk. The Reptile bares her fangs and prepares to bite her, when Bailey smashes the window behind her and she recoils from Valerie, gasping and hugging herself, moaning, "It's cold!" While Spalding enters the burning sitting room outside, the Reptile succumbs to the cold and collapses. Bailey yells for Valerie to escape through the hall and she heads through the door, where her husband rushes to her aid. He guides her down the hall and through the sitting room, but, hearing Catie meowing, Valerie rushes and grabs her cat. They then run past the flames and out the front door, which Bailey opens for them. They all run to safety, turning and looking briefly at the burning house before heading for home.

Music-wise, this is a so-so score from composer Don Banks: it's not as memorable or catchy as the music he did for The Evil of Frankenstein, or that he would do for The Mummy's Shroud the following year, but it's not forgettable like his music for Nightmare. There are two pieces from this score that truly stand out: an atmospheric, creeping, oriental-sounding bit that you hear from time to time, sometimes to signal the presence of the Malay, and a James Bernard-esque loud, screaming piece for some of the more frantic moments, such as the attacks of the Reptile and during the third act. And, while it's not anything special, the main title theme has this eerie, twinkling sort of sound that, along with a flute version of that oriental theme, plays along with the main section, which is the more typical type of horror music. Other than those, the only instances of music that leave an impression on me are the instances of oriental music in the distance that the characters sometimes hear (and which, I might add, are never explained in the context of the story) and when Anna plays her sitar.

The Reptile is a prime example of a film that is straightforward and right to the point, knows exactly what it's going for and doesn't take numerous detours in accomplishing its task. It has a cast of memorable characters played by very capable actors, with Michael Ripper, Noel Willman, and John Laurie standing out particularly, skilled direction and pacing that takes its time but never bores, good cinematography and original sets all its own, a unique sort of monster that's realized through some very cool makeup, and just a well-told story. Other than instances of very obvious day-for-night shooting and a middling music score, my only real issues with the movie are some holes in the script concerning the Reptile herself and the cult that created her, as well as how it's a shame it couldn't have more of its own sets and story to tell, rather than recycling material from The Plague of the Zombies. But, regardless, I personally enjoy this more than Plague and would most definitely recommend it to fans of Hammer and Gothic horror, especially unique examples of both.