THE RELIC
A film review by Walter Frith
Copyright 1997 Walter Frith
Director Peter Hyams whose films include 'Hanover Street' (1979) 'The Star Chamber' (1983) and the protracted sequel to '2001: A Space Odyssey' entitled '2010: The Year We Make Contact' (1984) and many other films, most of them mediocre at best has emerged with his latest offering entitled 'The Relic.' A museum in Chicago is subjected to being terrorized by a South American monster that is part insect, part amphibian and part human. After setting up the story it then turns into a cheap slasher film with little or no imagination and is an embarassment to the film industry at large. An evolutionary biologist (Penelope Ann Miller) works at solving the origins of this creepy beast and a homicide detective (Tom Sizemore) is along for the ride. The biologist, detective and even the film's portrayal of the mayor are all stereotypes we've seen over and over again. I was even further appalled at the claustrophobic nature of this film which muddles its way down dark tunnels and long corridors in an attempt to find the chilling effect of any horror film we've seen before. After a while the film becomes even more boring and silly. It's downright trivial the further and further it goes on. Director Hyams acts as his own director of photography like he has in the past and his liking of lens flare for moody effects is hard on the eyes before too long. Academy award winning actress Linda Hunt and veteran actor James Whitmore round out notable members of the cast and their talents are way above this turkey of a movie.
OUT OF 5> zero
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