Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Reptile. Updated 12/1.

The Big Picture

Netflix’s crime thriller Reptile draws inspiration from classic true crime films like Zodiac and In Cold Blood, incorporating realistic elements and unresolved mysteries. The film follows detective Tommy Nichols as he unravels the complex web of suspects connected to the death of real estate agent Summer, leaving viewers guessing till the end. While Reptile is a work of fiction, it bears resemblance to the unsolved murder of Canadian real estate agent Lindsay Buziak, adding to its authenticity and intrigue.

The “true crime” genre has only skyrocketed in its popularity throughout the last few years. Stories about police corruption, shocking murders, and conflicting institutions will never not be compelling. Eagle-eyed viewers may manage to put together the clues before the characters do if they’ve been paying close attention to detail. Netflix’s latest crime thriller Reptile presents a particularly compelling mystery for true-crime fans; Grant Singer’s Se7en-esque murder mystery centers on how the death of the young real estate agent Summer (Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz) links a group of malicious characters in a complex web of lies. Reptile certainly feels like a true crime thriller, but is it actually based on a true story? The answer is slightly more complicated than one might anticipate.

Reptile Following the brutal murder of a young real estate agent, a hardened detective attempts to uncover the
truth in a case where nothing is as it seems, and by doing so dismantles the illusions in his own life. Release Date September 29, 2023 Director Grant Singer Rating R Runtime 134 minutes Main Genre Drama Writers Benjamin Brewer , Grant Singer

‘Reptile’ Draws Inspiration From Crime Classics
In Reptile, Summer’s death starts off a chain reaction that forces the hardened detective Tommy Nichols (Benicio del Toro) to reflect upon the entirety of his career. Although his wife Judy (Alicia Silverstone) worries that he’s gotten himself in too deep, Nichols and his partner Dan Cleary (Ato Essendoh) identify a group of suspects that were connected to Summer during her last days. Could it be her boyfriend, Will (Justin Timberlake), who seems more interested in pursuing his business interests than grieving his partner’s death? Could Will’s domineering mother, Camille (Frances Fisher), have influenced his behavior? What about Summer’s ex-husband, Sam (Karl Glusman), who finds himself embroiled within a drug deal? Who is the mysterious man Eli Phillips (Michael Pitt), who appears to have issues with both Will and Summer?

Like many classic thrillers, Reptile excels at following its detective characters through every detail of the investigation. The film shows how Nichols and his team put together the clues surrounding the case, and how each interview unravels something new that inspires them to look deeper at the circumstances surrounding Summer’s death. Given the film’s realistic approach to the crime genre, it makes sense that Singer took inspiration from many classics within the genre. Although Singer noted a few horror classics like Rosemary’s Baby and The Night of the Hunter as inspirations, he also mentioned a few films within the true crime genre.

Related ‘Reptile’ Ending Explained: Who Murdered Summer? Who lives and who dies at the end of ‘Reptile’?

Among Singer’s inspirations for Reptile was David Fincher’s Zodiac, which explored the baffling mystery surrounding the enigmatic Zodiac killer that murdered many victims within the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1960s and 1970s. Zodiac is unique among true crime thrillers because the mystery itself was never solved; Zodiac may point its fingers at a few potential suspects, but their guilt is never confirmed. Singer said that Zodiac made him want “to make a movie that was more real-life and evoked aspects of true crime, which is to say not everything adds up, not everything makes sense.”

Another inspiration for Singer was the 1967 true crime thriller In Cold Blood, which was based on Truman Capote’s highly influential true crime novel of the same name that was published in 1959. The novel was particularly impactful during its initial release due to the detail that Capote paid to the real perpetrators involved in the Clutter family murders; Philip Seymour Hoffman portrayed a version of the author in the 2005 biopic Capote, which explored the initial publication of In Cold Blood. Similar to Capote himself, Singer learned that there was value in the research process. He said that the creative team behind Reptile “did a lot of research, practical research, learning about certain cases and doing research with actual law enforcement detectives.”

Some of the films that Singer cited weren’t directly based on true stories, but bear some resemblance to actual crimes. Singer listed Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 classic The Conversation as one of the films that had influenced Reptile. The Conversation centers on the surveillance expert Henry Caul (Gene Hackman), who begins to feel increasingly uneasy as he learns that he’s being watched by an enigmatic government security force. While The Conversation’s story was fictitious, the film felt particularly scary to many viewers due to its parallels to the real Watergate conspiracy involving US President Richard Nixon. Singer wanted to create a similar sense of anxiety within Reptile. He said that the film is “constantly trying to manipulate the viewer as to what they’re thinking, and when and who might be guilty, and who might be suspicious and who might not.”

‘Reptile’ Parallels a Real Case

Reptile ends with a truly shocking twist. Nichols learns that Judy’s uncle, Police Captain Robert Allen (Eric Bogosian), is part of a network of dirty cops that are laundering money through Grady’s real estate firm. Allen, the Chief of Police Marty Graeber (Mike Pniewski), and Nichols’ friend Wally (Domenick Lombardozzi) are all involved with the conspiracy. Summer’s death at the hands of her husband, Wally, has been covered up in order to protect the dirty cops, whose crimes could have been exposed by a formal investigation. In addition to starring in the film, del Toro also served as Reptile’s co-screenwriter alongside Singer. While del Toro and Singer may not have directly based Reptile on a true story, the film’s ending does parallel the 2008 murder of Canadian real estate agent Lindsay Buziak.

Although Buziak’s murder officially remains unsolved, the circumstances surrounding her death provoked suspicion surrounding her boyfriend, Jason Zailo, whose family owns a very successful real estate agency. Buziak’s murder attracted even more attention after it was covered on the Casefile podcast, which presented several theories regarding the potential culprits. True crime buffs have continued to peer into the case and present their potential theories. Del Toro and Singer have not confirmed any official connection between Reptile and the Buziak case. However, the parallels are striking enough that it’s possible that the movie at least drew some inspiration from a story that has provoked so much discussion.

Reptile is a work of fiction, but that doesn’t mean that the filmmakers didn’t try to make the film feel as realistic as possible. Del Toro and Singer certainly put in the work to make the film feel like an authentic investigative thriller. Actual crimes aren’t always solved, but thanks to fictional stories like Reptile, viewers can rest easy knowing that the case is resolved.

Reptile is currently streaming on Netflix in the U.S.

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