Exploitation doyen Fred Olen Ray has announced that his son Chris — clearly walking in the dad’s footsteps — has just finished directing his first film, a giant monster epic based on an old Charlton Comic from the 1960s. The film is called Reptisaurus; the comic it is based on was inspired by the Danish giant monster film, Reptilicus (1961; dir. Poul Bang and Sidney W. Pink) — at least for part of its rather short run.
Anyway, below are some pics from the film and some images from the original comic.
A scene of destruction:
The monster itself:
The cover of a Reptisaurus comic:
And a page from the comic:
Read more about the film at Dread Central.
Thanks, Avery, for the initial heads-up.
Addition — 9 Feb 2008:
Reptisaurus in flight (courtesy of Avery and tarstarkas.net):
I’m very excited about this new flick!! I wonder if it will contain any elements from the original comic other than the name??The monster’s appearance has definitely changed, as well as it’s color, but the story sounds basically the same.I’m anxious to see how creative this new first-time director is.The new shot of the monster in flight is definitely more encouraging.We’ll just have to wait and see.
Central to the comic seems to be the fact that there is a Mr and a Mrs Reptisaurus. If they follow that route it will have one major difference from most other giant monster flicks. But we’ve had no evidence of it yet. As you say, Avery, time will tell. But I agree with you that there are signs of potential, even if it’s only on a SciFi Channel level. It would be nice if a few of these films could wangle bigger budgets!
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Yeeesh, that picture of Reptisaurus the terrible IS TERRIBLE! It looks like a bad one dimensional cartoon! They need to fire their CGI guy’s. I’m not surprised though, Olen Ray’s stuff has always been crap. You can see better stuff produced on YouTube. Thank god this isn’t the 70’s and we actually have a choice these days.
I think you might be being a bit harsh, Michael. These are, after all, working “sketches”. Anyway it IS a low-budget pic so there’s no way the SFX can rival the big budget stuff from Hollywood. Personally, less-than-perfect SFX never worry me much. It’s how the SFX are used — and the quality of the scripting — that matters. I expect the highest quality CGI from films with multi-million dollar budgets — and when they don’t deliver I think such criticism is valid. But low-budget is inevitably going to be less-than-perfect. Even so, the imagination and the writing (often the weakest part of the blockbusters) doesn’t have to be poor in a cash-strapped environment. Both these may turn out to be awful in “Reptisaurus”, but until the film arrives we won’t know.
Years ago I watched a movie called “Clash of the Titans”. The creatures were about the same as I’m seeing here in this illustration of Reptisaurus. “Clash of the Titans” is a classic! I loved that film! For the same reason I liked “The Golden Voyage of Simbad”. “Reptisaurus” looks like a fun campy monster flick, and to be honest, there’s not enough of these anymore. They’re fun! I’m looking forward to this movie! As far as Olen Ray is concerned, if everyone made movies the same way that would be extremely boring! All that being said, I’m glad I have a choice, and I choose to watch “Reptisaurus”. Again I can’t wait!
Hi, Andy. Great to hear that sort of positive vibe. I totally agree with you! Everything isn’t the same — and it’s good that it’s that way.
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I’m glad I stumbled onto this blog. My name is Jeremiah Campbell. I’m the screenwriter responsible for REPTISAURUS. At least, as far as I know I’ll be credited on there. 😉
I am just as anxious as the rest to see this flick. It was a new dimension to explore, as a screenwriter. I’ve done mostly all low-budget horror films. This was definitely a new avenue for me. SCI FI!
I did enjoy writing the script – though was not aware of the whole Reptisaurs vibe until a few months ago. Honestly, I had never heard of Reptisaurus. With Chris and Fred behind the picture, I know it is going to turn out great. They were both excellent to work with.
Jeremiah
Great to hear from you, Jeremiah. There does seem to be a lot of excitement building about the film and we’re all looking forward to its release. When you see it, drop back and let us know what you thought of the result. I gather you weren’t involved in the actual filming? An exciting gig to get though.
Hey,
Actually, I was only involved in the writing of the script. The movie was filmed in California and I live in Ohio. I would have loved to have been there.
I am anxious to see it and will let you know if I see it anytime soon. The poster looks great!
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Glad to have stumbled on to this blog too! I play Dr. Carr in the film. The shooting of it was a lot of fun, and Chris was a delight to work with. I saw the trailer online, and it looks great! I can’t wait to see the final cut! As mentioned on earlier posts, it’s a low budget film. Please keep this in mind when trying to pick it apart. Are you working on the sequel, Jeremiah? 😉
Good question, Yahaira. Come on, Jeremiah, spill the beans! 🙂
Hi, I play Dr. Stevens in the movie, Dr. Carr’s collegue. The film was a blast to make. Films are generally not easy to shoot, especially on a small budget, so my hat’s off to Chris and his father Fred for pullin this off. The trailer looks great! It kind of reminds me of the old flying monster films from years ago. Say what you will about the cheese of low budget films, that trailer was histerical! The actor at the end of the trailer capped off some of the comedic sense peppered within this picture, and that’s what makes these “B” type films memorable. Oh, and least I forget to mention what an honor it was to work with veteran Icon “Buck Rogers” Gil Gerard! Jeremiah, a sequel would be fun, I think Dr. Carr has some unfinished business with her old collegue, as for Stevens, well he’s not all bad.
Thanks Backbrain, nice forum!
-Frank- AKA Dr. Stevens
Hello,
Wow, it’s great to see some of the cast popping in and saying hello.
As for a sequel, I have not heard anything yet, but I would be honored to write it. Chris and Fred were excellent to work with. Even if just over the telephone.
Frank and Yahaira – talk to Chris and Fred about a sequel. I’m on board. 100%.
I can’t wait to see the trailer and more photos.
Well I just saw the trailer….what a surprise! The Monster or Dragon or what ever it is… looks pretty good. This has got to be one of the best coming out of the Olen Ray camp. From what I can see the acting looks pretty fair too…I’ve seen worse on Sci-Fi..
By the way is this a comedy? because it looks like there’s some humor mixed in..It’s a relief if it is, I hate it when these Monster flicks go serious.
Hello All,
Just felt I should drop by and say hi. The film is in the final leg of post. I would like to thank everyone for giving the film a chance. Yes, it is low budget but for the budget it is looking a lot better than even I could have imagined. The creature has come a long way since the first day I first saw it. This is all thanks to Ray King (the CGI) guy.
As for the comedy, I tried to give the actors some freedom with certain moments in the film. As I view the trailer, I would say it panned out.
If anyone is interested I have no problems answering questions about the film. Just ask……
Thanks once again for dropping by, Chris. Fandom is always a little over-critical at times, but from my perspective “Reptisaurus” is looking like a labour of love that will, to some degree, transcend its low-budget status. At the very least I’m expecting it to be fun.
I appreciate your offer to answer questions. If it’s okay with you, I may “advertise” the offer in a separate post and see if we can get some takers.
Here is the post:
http://roberthood.net/blog/index.php/2008/06/11/reptisaurus-ask-the-director-chris-ray/
Chris,
Excellent job, man! Just seeing the trailer, I am salivating to see more. I never thought I’d see one of my flicks looks this good. CGI monster and all. Reptisaurus looks great!!!!
Terrific, wonder, excellent and superb job! I’d love to work with you again soon.
-Jeremiah
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So where’s the movie? is there a problem with this flick? haven’t been able to find it on dvd anywhere, even looked up Gil Gerard and it doesn’t appear to be listed with any of his completed projects, post production or otherwise..
They are just finishing post-production, as I understand it. But here’s the website:
http://www.reptisaurus.com/
If you looked Gil Gerard up on IMDB, The filom wouldn’t appear in his credit list because the film itself isn’t on IMDB. Why? I guess no one’s bothered to put it there yet.
Hello again,
The film is in its last step of post. So it should be soon. Also we have submitted it to IMDB about fifty times. For some reason they wont exept it.
Whos the Blonde???
OUTSTANDING!! Reptisaurus is now listed (TV) with IMDB!
the blonde is Ann marie Lynn i met her before.
Nice new look for this site, but hey what the heck happened with this movie? Has it been on Sci Fi or what?
I’ve been out of the country, just got back…Just wondering..
Nice new look for this site, but hey what the heck happened with this movie? Has it been on Sci Fi or what?
I’ve been out of the country, just got back…Just wondering..
The last I heard, Michael, they were still negotiating the distribution deal.
Sounds good, I’d like to see it. Are they marketing it over seas, will it be available at a blockbuster soon?
No one knows yet. It seems to be taking some time.
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