The Relic (1997)

A homicide detective and an anthropologist try to destroy a South American lizard-like god, who's on a people eating rampage in a Chicago museum.

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writers:

Douglas Preston (novel), Lincoln Child (novel),

Stars:

Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Sizemore, Linda Hunt

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A researcher at Chicago's Natural History Museum returns from South America with some crates containing his findings. When the crates arrive at the museum without the owner there appears to be very little inside. However, police discover gruesome murders on the cargo ship that brought the crates to the US and then another murder in the museum itself. Investigating the murders is Lt. Vincent D'Agosta who enlists the help of Dr. Margo Green at the museum - she has taken an interest in the contents of her colleague's crates. Unknown to both there is a large creature roaming the museum which is gearing itself up for a benefit reception which the city's mayor is to attend.

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Plot Keywords:

museum | crate | ship | mayor | benefit | 

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Taglines:

The Next Evolution In Terror.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for monster violence and gore, and for language

Details

Country:

USA UK Germany Japan New Zealand

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Relic

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

ITL 1,954,921,000 (Italy) (2 May 1997)

Gross:

ITL 3,016,379,000 (Italy) (6 June 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Marubeni, Mutual Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter Hyams:  [Spota]  a character named Spota.

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Goofs

When the dead body of a cop falls from the ceiling during the gala night, the wire from which it is suspended can be seen briefly.

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Quotes

Lt. Vincent D'Agosta: Somebody wanna tell me what in God's name that is?

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Connections

Featured in Flashback - Mörderische Ferien (2000)

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Soundtracks

"SUNRISE"
STRING QUARTET IN B FLAT MAJOR
by F.J. Haydn
Performed by Kodaly Quartet
Courtesy of Naxos of America
By Arrangement with Source/Q

User Reviews

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.