The Relic

Director: Peter Hyams, Natalie Erika James Peter Hyams

Overview

This action-packed horror thriller is filled with plenty of violence, gore, and some genuine chills. A gigantic man-eating mutant creature is lurking underneath the city. When human heads with holes chewed into them begin turning up at a museum, Detective Vincent D'Agosta is assigned to investigate.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/24/2017
UPC:	0032429287816
Original Release:	1997
Rating:	R
Source:	PARAMOUNT
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:49:00
Sales rank:	15,565

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Penelope Ann Miller	Dr. Margo Green
Tom Sizemore	Lt. Vincent D'Agosta
Linda Hunt	Dr. Ann Cuthbert
James Whitmore	Dr. Albert Frock
Clayton Rohner	Detective Hollingsworth
Chi Muoi Lo	Greg Lee
Thomas Ryan	Parkinson,Parkinson
Robert Lesser	Mayor Owen
Diane Robin	Mayor's Wife
Lewis Van Bergen	John Whitney
Constance Towers	Mrs. Blaisedale
Francis X. McCarthy	Mr. Blaisedale
Audra Lindley	Dr. Zweizig
John Kapelos	McNally
Tico Wells	Bailey
Mike Bacarella	Bradley
Gene Davis	Martini
Ronald Joshua Scott	Jonathan
David Graubart	Eugene,Eugene
Ron Cummins	Dr. Gross
Jophery C. Brown	Baskin
Ned Schmidtke	Captain Martin
LaDonna Tittle	Teacher
Katherine Mitchell	Officer Katherine
Eddie Jemison	Museum Worker
Matthew Furlin	Crazy Man
Thomas Carroll	Evans
Santos Morales	Captain Borne
John DiSanti	Wootton
David Proval	Johnson
Ralph Seymour	Sergeant
David Hollander	Charlie
Mandy Ingber	Donna
Kent George	Grad Student
John Debney	Conductor,Composer

Technical Credits

John Raffo

Rick Jaffa

Amanda Silver

Douglas Preston

Amy Holden Jones

Lincoln Child

Peter Hyams	Director
Garry Elmendore	Special Effects
Mark Gordon	Executive Producer,Producer
Gale Anne Hurd	Producer
Gary Levinsohn	Executive Producer,Producer
Gregory L. McMurry	Special Effects
Sam Mercer	Producer
Penny Perry	Casting
Stan Winston	Special Effects
John Raffo	Screenwriter
Richard Alonzo	Special Effects
Rick Jaffa	Screenwriter
Amanda Silver	Screenwriter
May Boss	Stunts
Neal Anderson	Sound Effects
Douglas Preston	Screenwriter
Amy Holden Jones	Screenwriter
Lincoln Child	Screenwriter
Natalie Erika James	Director
VIFX	Special Effects
Gene Cantamessa	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

As far as monster movies go, The Relic has become its own forgotten token of how to entertainingly present yet another B-movie special-effects monstrosity that gobbles up everything in sight during the course of 110 thrill-a-second minutes. Director Peter Hyams paints a slick picture of gory museum mayhem that has enough scares, wit, and truly claustrophobic settings to elevate it past its initial chilly theatrical reception. Highlighted by Hyams' own masterful cinematography, the tension stays taut even when the ghastly beast isn't on the screen thanks to his plays of light and extreme shadow. Detractors knock the film for its conventional underpinnings, but they don't seem to get the fun that the film has within its genre's own confines, none of which would be possible without the truly likable characters that populate the picture. Tom Sizemore has rarely been as charming, while Clayton Rohner steals the show as Hollingsworth, the sidekick cop who not only saves the lives of most of the trapped museum benefactors, but shockingly lives to see another day. And despite some early stumbling with the script's tongue-tied scientific lingo, Penelope Ann Miller makes for a competent scream queen who is both intelligent and sexy as she battles the deadly creature by using her smarts while also wearing a miniskirt. Casting for the rest of the picture couldn't be better, with all roles big and small filled perfectly with character actors who make the most of their screen time. And the monster? While early on in the development of CG animation, Stan Winston takes much of his Jurassic Park knowledge of practical vs. artificial effects to a new level with this gooey creature. With a wholly original design (despite its Predator-like mandibles), Winston and company present a formidable villain that takes down more than its share of SWAT team members, the rich elite, and even a marijuana-smoking security guard (remember kids -- drugs kill!). Though the flick suffers from certainly one of the slowest "running from the fireball" finales, The Relic still delivers the scares as only a solid monster movie can, which is all that should be asked of it during any late-night viewings.