If ever a movie needed a horror host, it would Reptilicus, a Danish import distributed by AIP. Bill Warren in his Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties (okay, so it wasn’t American or the 1950s but…), unloaded both barrels in his usual stye. “Reptilicus has the dubious distinction of being a movie so bad American International almost refused to distribute it.” The monster twist here is that if any part of Reptilicus survives it regenerates the rest. As in The Giant Claw, the monster is a puppet, with “the body…dragged around by the head.” He goes on to mention that Reptilicus flew in the European prints of the film, but they were cut for the American release. Some suing went on between AIP and Sid Pink (he wrote the story and co-directed) over the originally delivered movie, and then some suing went on between Sid Pink and AIP and Monarch Books after the novelization hit the bookshelves. Apparently the novelization was rather racy containing “lewd, lascivious and wanton desire…” Of course, none of that was in the movie, unfortunately. You be the judge! I think a double bill viewing with this and The Giant Claw should be mandatory.
