According to the triune brain theory, a human brain exists in three layers. The reptilian part that controls breathing, heart rate, reflexes, and balance is the oldest part of our brain. The limbic part controls emotions and behavior. The most recently developed part in our brain is the neocortex that governs the cerebral or the intellectual capability. But none of them works independently and the working of one affects the other. Now, the movie, Reptile, tries to portray the part of the human that is common with the cold-blooded. The commonality between a reptile and human is bleak but at the level of the natural reflex instincts, it is still the same.

The movie however adds the other natural ability of the cold-blooded to shed skin and refresh themselves. This is one of the other aspects that you’ll come across in this movie and would be able to relate to in the climax. When the movie begins, the story is so scripted that you really don’t know if the movie is about the boyfriend who found his dead girlfriend or something else entirely. You would assume that it’s a murder mystery but as the story unfolds itself, you notice a shift towards a psychological thriller. The lead character Tom Nichols (played by Benicio del Toro) when assigned this mysterious murder case, his past starts to amalgamate with his present. His internal struggle to come out of that shell and pursue the case irrespective of the outcome is beautifully portrayed in the movie and slowly makes you feel the same transition.

Also, the script’s natural transition to the lead character is poised in a way that makes you wonder whether you would enjoy the outcome or would rather prefer to go with the journey of finding the truth. The script not only makes the outcome irrelevant but also makes sure that the lead character goes through his transition and fights the outcome. To top that the director, Grant Singer, in his debut banks on the premise of working with the camera angles while transitioning scene sequences with ominous dark score. This is one of the aspects that I liked about this psychological thriller.

That being said, the movie Reptile is not for everyone and especially for those who expect that there would be some big revelation in the climax. You can call the script weaker than most psychological thrillers but given the fact that this is Grant Singer’s directorial debut, I would choose not to criticize it. The better aspects in the movie are subtly hidden and you can choose to decipher depending on your interpretations. In a scene where Tom consults a shrink after shooting a drug trafficker, you’ll notice his transition. The nightmare that constantly shook him for years was suddenly different. He acknowledges that he is now able to draw his gun at the right moment when confronted by a criminal pointing a gun at him. This transition was crucial for his reptilian brain to regain reflex strengths. 

The acting performance by Benicio del Toro is something to watch out for. All his natural instincts, be it protecting his wife Judy (played by Alicia Silverstone) from a predator or digging deep into the facts makes this movie a must watch.