''The Relic'' is a 1997 American

monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed by

Peter Hyams Peter Hyams (born July 26, 1943) is an American film director, screenwriter and cinematographer known for directing the 1977 conspiracy thriller film ''Capricorn One'' (which he also wrote), the 1981 science fiction-thriller ''Outland (film), Outl ...

and based on the best-selling 1995 novel ''

Relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

'' by

Douglas Preston Douglas Jerome Preston (born May 31, 1956) is an American journalist and author. Although he is best known for his thrillers in collaboration with Lincoln Child (including the '' Agent Pendergast'' series and ''Gideon Crew'' series), he has als ...

and

Lincoln Child Lincoln Child (born October 13, 1957) is an American author of techno-thriller and horror novels. Though he is most well known for his collaborations with Douglas Preston (including the Agent Pendergast series and the Gideon Crew series, among ...

. The film stars

Penelope Ann Miller Penelope Ann Miller (born Penelope Andrea Miller; January 13, 1964), sometimes credited as Penelope Miller, is an American actress. She began her career on Broadway in the original run of '' Biloxi Blues'' (1985–1986), later appearing in the ...

Tom Sizemore Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. (; November 29, 1961 – March 3, 2023) was an American actor. Born in Detroit, he started his career with supporting appearances in '' Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), '' Lock Up'' (1989), and '' Blue Steel'' (19 ...

Linda Hunt Linda Hunt (born Lydia Susanna Hunt; April 2, 1945) is an American actress. She made her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart in Popeye (film), ''Popeye'' (1980). Her portrayal of the male character Billy Kwan in ''The Year of Living Dangerously (fil ...

, and

James Whitmore James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Ac ...

. In the film, a detective and a biologist try to defeat a South American lizard-like monster which is on a killing spree in the

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. The movie was shot in

at the Field Museum of Natural History. Production was originally intended to be held at the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. However, a deal could not be reached and, after taking interest in the film's premise, the Field Museum offered to let the studio shoot there instead. The film was the second on-screen collaboration between Hunt, Miller, and supporting actor

Chi Muoi Lo Chi Muoi Lo (born October 31, 1976) is an actor, writer, and entrepreneur. He is classically trained and best known for starring in the ''Vanishing Son'' made-for-television eight-hour mini-series and syndicated television episodic series. As a wr ...

, all three of whom also worked on the film ''

Kindergarten Cop ''Kindergarten Cop'' is a 1990 American action comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and distributed by Universal Pictures. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as John Kimble, a tough Los Angeles police detective working undercover as a kindergarten teac ...

''. The film was released in the United States on January 10, 1997, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. It grossed only $48 million worldwide against a $40–60 million budget. It was the last film appearance of actress

Audra Lindley Audra Lindley (September 24, 1918 – October 16, 1997) was an American actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom '' Three's Company'' and its spin-off '' The Ropers''. Life and career Audra Lindley was born in L ...

Plot

John Whitney, an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

for the

, studies a tribe in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and drinks a soup made by the tribesmen. Shortly after, Whitney accosts a merchant ship captain, asking him to remove the cargo he had intended to send to Chicago from the ship. Unwilling to delay the ship's departure, the captain refuses, and Whitney sneaks aboard. Unable to find his cargo, he cries out. Six weeks later, the ship arrives on

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

with its crew missing. Chicago PD

homicide detective A homicide investigator or homicide detective investigates suspicious deaths and collects and evaluates evidence to determine the cause of a homicide.{{Cite web , title=How to Become a Homicide Detective (Education, Duties & Salary) , url=https:/ ...

Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta and his partner, Sergeant Hollingsworth, investigate the ship and find dozens of corpses in the

bilge The bilge of a ship or boat is the part of the hull that would rest on the ground if the vessel were unsupported by water. The "turn of the bilge" is the transition from the bottom of a hull to the sides of a hull. Internally, the bilges (us ...

. Another seven days later, Margo Green, an

evolutionary biologist Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes such as natural selection, common descent, and speciation that produced the diversity of life on Earth. In the 1930s, the discipline of evolutionary biol ...

, arrives at work at the museum and discovers that co-worker Greg Lee is applying for the same research grant she is after he had gotten one for himself already. After their arrival by air, Margo and her mentor, Albert Frock, examine Whitney's crates and find them empty, except for a bed of leaves and a stone statue of the "Kothoga", a mythical forest monster. Margo notices a fungus on the leaves and sends it for analysis; the remaining leaves are incinerated. That night, security guard Frederick Ford is murdered like the ship's crew by an unseen creature. D'Agosta suspects a connection. Believing the killer is still inside the museum, he orders it closed until the police have finished searching. Ann Cuthbert, the museum director, protests and mentions a critical upcoming exhibition. Margo discovers the fungus contains concentrated

hormones A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs or tissues by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones a ...

found in several animal species. In the container of leaves, she finds a mutated beetle with insect and reptilian DNA, which had slipped into the container some time prior. Margo crushes the mutant with a heavy book. Ford's autopsy reveals that his

hypothalamus The hypothalamus (: hypothalami; ) is a small part of the vertebrate brain that contains a number of nucleus (neuroanatomy), nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrin ...

was extracted from his brain, like the bodies from the ship. In the museum's basement, the police are startled by a mentally ill, homeless ex-convict and kill him. Finding Ford's wallet on him, and an identity tag from one of the crew of the ship, everyone assumes that the suspect is dead, and considers the case closed. Despite this, D'Agosta remains sceptical, but Mayor Robert Owen and the museum’s head of security, Tom Parkinson, force him to let the exhibition proceed. D'Agosta orders a lockdown of all museum areas except the main exhibition hall on the night of the opening. Frock and Margo, trapped in the laboratory wing, continue working and discover that Ford's killer is after the hormones on the leaves. D'Agosta and several officers search the basement tunnels once again. They are attacked by the creature, killing K-9 Officer Bradley and a police dog. D'Agosta tells Hollingsworth to evacuate the museum, but it is too late. In the main hall, the headless body of a murdered policeman falls into the crowd, causing panic. During the hysteria, the museum's alarms are tripped, and their security system goes haywire, trapping a small group of people inside. Two security guards try to restore the power but are killed by an unseen creature. D'Agosta meets Margo and Frock in the lab, where the creature, revealed to be the Kothoga, an enormous chimeric beast, attacks them; they close a steel door to stop it. Margo theorizes the fungus mutated a smaller creature, and Frock says that without the leaves to eat, the Kothoga instinctively seeks the closest substitute, human hypothalami, until it runs out of targets and dies; he further postulates that the tribe knew of the fungus, and used it on a human or animal to deal with an external threat, then hid until the threat was neutralised. The Kothoga died of "starvation." D'Agosta finds a radio and tells Hollingsworth to lead the museum guests via an old coal tunnel. Tom, Greg, and benefactors Mr. and Mrs. Blaisedale refuse to go, and CPD officer McNally stays behind to guard them; the Kothoga returns to the main hall and murders them and the S.W.A.T. officers who enter through the skylights. Margo suggests using

liquid nitrogen Liquid nitrogen (LN2) is nitrogen in a liquid state at cryogenics, low temperature. Liquid nitrogen has a boiling point of about . It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquid air. It is a colorless, mobile liquid whose vis ...

to kill the Kothoga, as it is part-reptilian and likely cold-blooded. While collecting the remaining leaves in the lab, Margo and D'Agosta discover Frock has been killed. In the sewers, D'Agosta uses the leaves to lure the Kothoga away from the coal tunnel, allowing the guests to escape, though CPD officer Bailey and a guest are both killed. However, liquid nitrogen does not affect the creature. Margo and D'Agosta flee. In the lab, her computer completes the analysis of the Kothoga's human DNA, revealing that John Whitney is the Kothoga, mutated after drinking the tribesmen's soup. The Kothoga smashes into the lab through the ceiling, while D'Agosta is locked outside. It chases Margo, corners her, and suddenly hesitates, seemingly recognizing her. Margo starts an explosive fire that incinerates the Kothoga, surviving by hiding inside a maceration tank. As dawn comes, D'Agosta and a team of police break into the lab, see the charred remains of the Kothoga, and rescue Margo from the tank.

Cast

as Margo Green, museum evolutionary biologist *

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Chicago City Council. It is the second-largest Law enforcement in the United States#Local, ...

Lieutenant

Vincent D'Agosta ''Relic'' is a 1995 novel by American authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, and the first in the Special Agent Pendergast series. As a horror novel and techno-thriller, it comments on the possibilities inherent in genetic manipulation, a ...

, Chicago police detective *

as Ann Cuthbert, museum curator *

as Albert Frock, museum scientist and Margo's mentor *

Clayton Rohner Clayton Montague Rohner (born August 5, 1957) is an American actor. He made his film debut in the comedy ''Just One of the Guys'' (1985), and had subsequent roles in the horror films ''April Fool's Day (1986 film), April Fool's Day'' (1986), ''Ba ...

as Sergeant Hollingsworth, junior police detective and D'Agosta's subordinate *

as Greg Lee, an ambitious museum scientist trying to apply the same research grant away from Margo. * Thomas Ryan as Tom Parkinson, the museum's head of security *

Robert Lesser Robert Lesser or Bobby Lesser is an American film, theater and television actor. Lesser was born in New York City, and lives in Santa Barbara. His earliest work dates to 1967 with " David Holzman's Diary", directed by Jim McBride. He is best kno ...

as Mayor Robert Owen * Diane Robin as Mrs. Owen, Mayor Owen's wife *

Lewis Van Bergen Lewis Van Bergen (November 9, 1938 – April 6, 2018) was an American actor, best known for his role as Jon Sable on the short-lived 1987 television series ''Sable''. He was in the film ''Bugsy ''Bugsy'' is a 1991 American biographical ...

as John Whitney, museum anthropologist who went missing after his expedition in South America. John Whitney turns into a monster The Kothoga, ingesting the mushrooms. * Francis X. McCarthy as George Blaisedale, a wealthy museum benefactor *

Constance Towers Constance Mary Towers (born May 20, 1933) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She gained prominence for her appearances in several mainstream 1950s films before transitioning to theater, starring in numerous Broadway productions ...

as Carrie Blaisedale, Mr. Blaisedale's wife *

as Dr. Zwiezic, medical examiner *

John Kapelos John Kapelos (born March 8, 1956) is a Canadian actor from London, Ontario. He is best known for his portrayals of janitor Carl Reed in ''The Breakfast Club''Tico Wells Tico Wells is an American actor, known for his role as Choir Boy in the 1991 film '' The Five Heartbeats''. He has also appeared on ''The Cosby Show'', '' 227'', Hallmark movies and ''Beverly Hills, 90210''. He was Tim in the movie ''The Wish Lis ...

as Bailey, Chicago Police officer * Mike Bacarella as Bradley, Chicago Police K-9 officer * Gene Davis as Martini, crime scene investigator * John DiSanti as Wootton, museum security guard *

David Proval David Proval (born May 20, 1942) is an American actor best known for his roles as Tony DeVienazo in the Martin Scorsese film '' Mean Streets'' (1973), Snooze in ''The Shawshank Redemption'' (1994), Siegfried in '' Four Rooms'' (1995) and as Ric ...

as Johnson, museum security guard * Jophery Brown as Frederick Ford, museum security guard * Lyn Alicia Henderson as Perri Masai, restoration technician * Don Harvey as Spota * Dave Graubart as Eugene, one of truant boys * Roland Joshua Scott as Josh, one of truant boys * Vincent Hammond and

Brian Steele Brian Steele is an American actor who is best known for frequently playing monsters in films and television. In 2018, he appeared as The Robot in ''Lost in Space''. Steele stands at 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m). Career On television, Steele was t ...

as Kothoga, the lizard like-monster mutated by fungus from South America ** Gary A. Hecker as Kothoga's Vocalization

Production

''The Relic'' was based on the horror novel by Douglas Preston, an ex-journalist and former public relations director for the

, and Lincoln Child (though it omits their major character, FBI agent Pendergast). It was developed by Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy. The director, Peter Hyams, commented "I don't think you can scare people, unless you involve them." and "A movie like this has to be intelligent." Because the novel portrayed the museum's administration in an unflattering light, they turned the film's producers down.

offered the museum a seven-figure sum of money to film there, but the administration was worried that the monster movie would scare kids away from the museum. The producers were faced with a problem as only museums in

and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, resembled the one in New York. The

in Chicago loved the premise and allowed them to shoot there. Penelope Ann Miller had not done a horror film prior to ''The Relic'' but was drawn to director Peter Hyams' desire to have a strong, smart female lead. Tom Sizemore was attracted to the film because he got to play the male lead: "I had the responsibility of pushing the narrative forward." Makeup artist

Stan Winston Stanley Winston (April 7, 1946 – June 15, 2008) was an American television and film special make-up effects artist, best known for his work in the ''Terminator'' series, the first three '' Jurassic Park'' films, '' Aliens'', '' The Thing'', ...

and his team made three creatures with two people moving the heads and people on the side working the electronics to move the arms, claws, mouth, and so on. Hyams reviewed Winston's early drawings and his only suggestion was to make the monster more hideous looking. The director also suggested certain invertebrates for inspiration and Winston came up with an arachnoid outline for the monster's face. In the scenes where the creature is running or jumping, a computer-generated version was used. In addition to shooting on location in Chicago, a set was built in LA of a tunnel flooded with water. Sizemore spent most of the shoot either damp, cold or soaking wet and, as a result, caught the flu twice. The production was shut down briefly when Hyams became too sick to work.

Release

''The Relic'' premiered on January 10, 1997. It opened #1 at the box office, grossing $9,064,143 its opening week and a total of $33,956,608 in the US, against an estimated cost $60 million. It was released on Blu-ray on April 6, 2010.

Reception

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, ''The Relic'' holds an approval rating of 38%, based on 34 reviews, and an average rating of 4.7/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

James Berardinelli James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of reviews of movies on ...

of ReelViews said that "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''." Positive reviews came from critics

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

and

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...

; Siskel described the film as "surprisingly entertaining", and Ebert said that the film was clever in how it "combines the conventions of the horror and disaster genres" and "is actually a lot of fun, if you like special effects and gore." Film historian

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

gave the movie 2.5 out of a possible 4 stars, summing it up as "'' Alien'' in a museum". Peter Stack of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' gave the film a mixed review, stating, The Relic' will quickly fade to video, where it might fare well as a bump-in-the-night benefiting from the fast-forward button." Russell Smith of ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...

'' gave the film a 2.5/5 stating, "Long story short: This film stands as a near-perfect specimen of two hardy cinema archetypes – the cheesy but diverting creature feature and the weekend bargain matinee." In a more negative review, Richard Harrington of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' stated, "It's a familiar story in the horror film business: good novel, terrible adaptation (just ask Stephen King and Clive Barker). As written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, "The Relic" deserved to be taken off the shelf; as adapted by a quartet of screenwriters and directed by Peter Hyams, it should have been left on one." Despite the negative reviews, the film gained a strong following. Lead actress, Penelope Ann Miller is fond of the film: "It had a lot of things in it that were definitely out there. But it was a good scary movie." The film was nominated for multiple science-fiction and fantasy awards, including best horror film and best actress (for Penelope Ann Miller) at the 1997 Saturn Awards.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Relic, The 1997 films 1997 horror films 1997 science fiction films 1990s English-language films 1990s monster movies 1990s police procedural films 1997 science fiction horror films American monster movies American police detective films American science fiction horror films Fictional portrayals of the Chicago Police Department Films based on American horror novels Films directed by Peter Hyams Films produced by Gale Anne Hurd Films produced by Sam Mercer Films scored by John Debney Films set in Chicago Films set in natural history museums Films shot in Chicago Films shot in Los Angeles Films with screenplays by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver Films with screenplays by Amy Holden Jones Giant monster films Mutual Film Company films Paramount Pictures films PolyGram Filmed Entertainment films 1990s American films English-language science fiction horror films English-language crime films