THE RELIC
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 5.0 Alternative Scale: ** out of ****
United States, 1997 Release date: 1/10/97 (wide) Running Length: 1:45 MPAA Classification: R (Violence, extreme gore) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast: Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Sizemore, Linda Hunt, James Whitmore Director: Peter Hyams Producers: Gale Ann Hurd, Sam Mercer Screenplay: Amy Holden Jones and John Raffo and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver based on the novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child Cinematography: Peter Hyams Music: John Debney U.S. Distributor: Paramount Pictures
There are moments when THE RELIC is almost enjoyable, albeit in a visceral sort of way. Unfortunately, when all is said and done, this horror/science fiction amalgamation seems like nothing more ambitious than a bad reworking of elements from ALIENS, SPECIES, JAWS, and PREDATOR. Except for the choice of protagonists and the setting, there's nothing remotely new here. Even the homicidal monster, created in the workshop of veteran creature master, Stan Winston, looks like the result of mixing and matching some of the most gruesome attributes of recent non-human villains.
Director Peter Hyams (one of the few film makers to act as his own cinematographer), who once helmed Sean Connery in OUTLAND, manages to occasionally elevate the tension to a level that arrests the audience's attention, but it doesn't lead to anything worthwhile. The ending is a classic example of deus ex machina -- a sudden, unexpected turn-of- events that leaves movie-goers shaking their heads sadly and wondering why the screenwriters couldn't have thought up something more reasonable and satisfying.
Most of the action takes place in Chicago's Museum of Natural History, the destination of a mysterious artifact from Brazil. Shortly after its arrival, a security guard is brutally murdered (he's decapitated and part of his brain is eaten). Chicago P.D. Detective D'Agosta (Tom Sizemore) thinks there's a link between the museum murder and a recent massacre on a ship found adrift in Lake Michigan. As D'Agosta's investigation takes him deeper into the bowels of the building, he is reluctantly helped by Dr. Margo Green (Penelope Ann Miller), an evolutionary biologist who discovers important DNA evidence about the killer.
The second half of the movie, which is by far the most energetic, involves a gala celebration at the museum that turns into a bloodbath when the creature gets loose and starts beheading people and sucking out their brains. A power failure causes all the security doors to crash down, trapping a number of dignitaries inside the building. This results in a cat-and-mouse hunt through unlit, underground tunnels and water-filled catacombs, with D'Agosta and Green trying to distract the monster so that it doesn't devour the mayor.
The film is filled with references to DNA, evolution, and all sorts of other scientific (or, in some cases, pseudo-scientific) mumbo-jumbo. While these may have been important plot aspects of the novel upon which THE RELIC is based, all they manage to accomplish here is to add minutes to the running time without providing any valuable insight into what's going on. To borrow a term, THE RELIC is basically designed as a "bug hunt"; attempts to make it anything more intelligent or interesting fail.
Penelope Ann Miller definitely isn't classic action heroine material. She looks nice in a slinky black dress and can let out a pretty decent scream, but she's too petite to get involved in any face- to-face combat. As a result, the always-reliable Tom Sizemore is on hand to provide some muscle (although he's shut out of the final battle by a conveniently-locked metal door). I suppose these two deserve credit for maintaining such a level of earnestness amidst all the cliches.
This kind of movie has a built-in audience, although it's not clear how large that audience is. We've seen so many variations on this same story that it's gradually losing whatever appeal it once held. THE RELIC isn't the film to inject new life into the sub-genre. Instead, this is just the latest attempt to milk a mostly-dry formula, and the result is what you might expect -- a slick, gory motion picture with lots of cheap shocks, including the obligatory cat jumping out of the darkness. Such a poor payoff is hardly a good reason to shell out the price of admission at the box office.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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