The Relic (1997)

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writers (WGA):

Douglas Preston (novel) and
Lincoln Child (novel) ...

Release Date:

10 January 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

They did the unthinkable. They brought it back.

Plot:

A researcher at Chicago's Natural History Museum returns from South America with some crates containing his findings...

Plot Keywords:

Museum | Crate | Ship | Cargo Ship | Mayor

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Penelope Ann Miller	...	Dr. Margo Green
Tom Sizemore	...	Lt. Vincent D'Agosta
Linda Hunt	...	Dr. Ann Cuthbert
James Whitmore	...	Dr. Albert Frock
Clayton Rohner	...	Det. Hollingsworth
Chi Muoi Lo	...	Dr. Greg Lee
Thomas Ryan	...	Tom Parkinson
Robert Lesser	...	Mayor Robert Owen
Diane Robin	...	The Mayor's Wife
Lewis Van Bergen	...	John Whitney
Constance Towers	...	Mrs. Blaisedale
Francis X. McCarthy	...	Mr. Blaisedale
Audra Lindley	...	Dr. Zwiezic
John Kapelos	...	McNally
Tico Wells	...	Bailey

Also Known As:

Das Relikt (Germany)
Das Relikt - Das Museum der Angst (Germany) (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated R for monster violence and gore, and for language.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA | UK | Germany | Japan | New Zealand

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Netherlands:12 | France:-12 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (PCA #33883)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Audra Lindley's last feature film.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The tank into which Margo falls only contains hot water, used to loosen skin from a carcass. At the time she enters this tank, it is switched off and the water is cold.

Quotes:

Police Officer: His wife got custody of his son?
Det. Hollingsworth: No. His dog.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Flashback - Mörderische Ferien (2000)

Soundtrack:

SUNRISE

A Relic From Old Time Eighties Monster Cinema

The title misled me when I first heard of this and saw it back in '97. To me, a relic is some old artifact, and I figured this had something to do with a curse, such as bringing something dead back to life. In, uh, reality, this is about re-arranging existing life, remolding it through wicked biological mutation inside a very basic 'monster-on-the-loose' plot. A very basic drawback for me has to do with visuals, but not the FX, as one might expect. Hyams, the director, also functioned as director of photography (as is usual for him) and I believe he might have been aiming for some extra spookiness in all the scenes taking place in the dark (or, over half the film). But he over extended himself here - the scenes are just too dark, or else the transfers of this film to video and DVD failed to follow someone's instructions. Instead of jumping at the scares, a viewer may instead find himself straining to figure out what's going on. Some of the basic plot turns are clumsy: early on, we are shown the results of a massacre on board a ship, yet the ship docked without problems (?). So, the massacre happened right after it docked (?). No one at the port noticed anything going on...?

However, the cast is good: Sizemore has the wiseguy veteran cop role down pat; Miller is sexy in that coltish brainy redhead way; Hunt is always interesting; and Whitmore never gave a bad performance in his 50+ year career. The main innovation in this creature feature is that the main action takes place in a huge museum (in Chicago). There's also more mention of the 'hypothalamus' - a section of the brain - than in most movies. Otherwise, it follows the old standard formula of political expediency versus common sense law enforcement. Everyone thinks the killer is, of course, the human serial-style variety; the cop feels something ain't right; the politicians have their way for a gala event. This is where things take off, with the monster stalking the elites in the darkened museum. To the film's credit, once the tough guys (a SWAT team) show up, things don't fall neatly into place - the monster makes short work of some of these guys. Early use of digital FX was somewhat startling back then; when the thing grabs a hapless cop, there's no need for a cutaway to a different angle, as in the pre-digital days. Yuk.