The Relic

Title: The Relic
Director: Peter Hyams
Released: 1997
Starring: Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Sizemore, Linda Hunt, James Whitmore, Clayton Rohner, Chi Muoi Lo, Thomas Ryan, Robert Lesser

Plot: When a cargo ship crew is found mysteriously murdered Lt. Vincent D’Agosta (Sizemore) soon finds similarly brutal murders happening at the Chicago Natural History Museum. Now enlisting the help of Dr. Margo Green (Miller) they soon discover their killer might somthing all the more mysterious.

Review: Another largely forgotten monster flick from the 90’s which had a blink and your miss it release here in the UK despite a #1 opening in the US leaving it to become more of a cult curiosity to discover via TV showings or rentals which inturn only posed further questions as to why it’s release had not been bigger.

Based on the novel Relic by ex-journalist and former public relations director for the American museum of Natural History in New York City Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child while the film randomly omits it’s lead character FBI agent Pendergast who heads up a series of novels and essentially killing dead the potential for a franchise to be built out of the book series which makes for an interesting comparison to the current state of the film industry were studios are keen to latch onto any series that they feel they can turn a profit on while Marvel and DC are constructing multi-film worlds. However to the novel far from painting the museum staff in hardly the most flattering light they turned down the request and accompanying seven-figure offer to film at the museum which the administrator also turned down feeling that the movie would scare children away from the museum, which considering how most of the places which held the most fascination for myself as a kid were the ones with horror stories and monsters attached to them would probably only had made me want to visit it more. Thankfully the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago loved the premise of the film and granted permission for filming to take place.

With FBI Agent Pendergast removed from the film Tom Sizemore gets a rare leading man role as the highly superstitious Chicago Lt. Vincent D’Agosta which plays nicely into the Superstition exhibition whose opening is being also used as fundraiser for the museum which in turn Penelope Ann Miller’s evolutionary biologist Dr. Margo Green is hoping will provide her research with the much needed grant money she needs to keep her work going. Both leads have great on screen chemisty with their characters playing well off each other as they try to track down the monster roaming the halls and tunnels of the museum. Sizemore here initially playing things a lot more quiet and calm than I was used to seeing before he slowly moves back into his usual style the more tense the situation gets. Miller meanwhile attracted to the film having a strong and smart female lead proves herself equally at home handling the scientific side of the investigation as she is monster hunting in her little black dress. At the same time the film benefits from an equally strong supporting class including the always welcome Linda Hunt who much like the dearly missed Zelda Rubinstein never seems to age while seemingly like she would be an amazing interview subject and certainly here she is none the less memorable as she command every scene she’s in.

Shot as more of a police procedural it’s an interesting spin on a well worn plot and certainly the film takes it’s time following D’Agosta’s investigation before the monster is memorably unleashed during the gala diner creating a number of fun set pieces while at this point spliting the film into three distinct plot threads as D’Agosta try to figure out what the monster is building to an explanation that’s overly clear but one that is probebly best just going with much like how such a hulking beast can move so quickly between locations in the museum to harass D’Agosta, the escape party being lead by Sgt. Hollingsworth and the Mayor’s group hiding out in the exhibit while the SWAT Team attempt to break through the security doors.

The monster known as the Kothoga is another incredible Stan Winston creation whose creation did lead to the film having it’s release date pushed back but unquestionably the extra time was worth it. Director Peter Hyams helps aid the practical effects with quick cuts and shadow play while using a CGI version for the running and jumping sequences which while it might lack the presence of Winston’s effects is thankfully not too distracting especially when it sets up some fun death scenes. The design on the other hand is a real nightmarish creation due to being comprised of elements of various creatures that you can never quite place what your looking at which only adds to the mystery surrounding it.

A fun monster romp which frequently manages to surprise even the more hardened genre fan and sure why it might not be the most cerebral of viewing it’s feels like it’s constantly trying to do something different with the material than just being another monster on the loose romp.