Monster Movie Mayhem: The Relic

By CONNOR KEATING
Tiger Media Network

It’s October! So apparently that means everyone now gets an excuse to watch a crap ton of horror movies or something? I think it has something to do with October 31, but I don’t know why Reformation Day means “decorate the house with skeletons and watch scary movies,” but whatever. 

Anyways, through the month of October I’ll be reviewing various monster movies, most of which aren’t that well known, and to start things off, we’ll be taking a look at the forgotten late 90s creature feature: “The Relic”.

So, “The Relic” is a 1997 film directed by Peter Hyams, and is based on a novel of the same name, written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. The plot is that a scientist who works at the Chicago Museum of Natural History is doing research in South America spending time with a group of tribal people. From them, he obtains a statue and a box filled with leaves, and then they feed the guy some weird liquid that kind of makes him go crazy, it’s important for later, but I’m not gonna spoil it. 

Anyways, he gets on a boat to head back, but neither of his packages gets on the boat. Of course, since this is a monster movie, something terrible happens on the boat and it’s found in the middle of Lake Michigan with the entire crew dead. A little while later, all of the scientist’s packages manage to get to the museum, just in time for the new exhibit on superstition, where the statue will be one of the centerpieces. The two main characters are Dr. Margo Green, who is an evolutionary biologist at the museum, and Vincent D’Agosta, who is a detective trying to solve a bizarre series of murders where the killer seems to be after a certain part of the human brain. The killings move from the boat and into the museum, leading to the place closing for a bit, but there’s a big banquet coming up for their new exhibit, and they need the money and the publicity, so they open up part of the museum, and of course, everything goes wrong.

As you can tell, there’s quite a bit going on in the film, however, it does a good job of balancing it all out. There’s the very obviously “JAWS” inspired plot line with the banquet, and the film has two running mysteries. The first mystery of, “who done it?” isn’t hidden from the audience, we know it’s the big monster, but where the monster came from and what exactly it is, is the more intriguing mystery, and is the one that the film digs deeper into. The whole mystery really helps to keep the film from feeling like another run-of-the-mill monster movie and helps to make its beast, the Kothoga, feel unique. 

One issue with the film that I think might wear on some people is the pacing. Now, it’s not a poorly paced-film, but it does take a while for the monster to be revealed and start going on a massacre. There are a couple of kills before the full reveal, but they’re pretty quick, and the monster is kept hidden. I don’t have much of a problem with this, as long as the story and characters are good, but I know that some might end up being fairly bored by this.

Speaking of, let’s look at our characters. Dr. Green, despite being our main protagonist, is unfortunately overshadowed by a lot of the characters around her, however, she plays off them all quite well. It helps that D’Agosta is basically a second protagonist. His main quirk is that he’s super superstitious, and the film really drills this into your head. Dr. Green on the other hand is a no-nonsense scientist who doesn’t believe in any of that, so this allows them to have some fun little interactions and leads to Dr. Green’s little arc where she has to rely on luck to survive at the end of the film. So while Dr. Green is a bit generic, together they make a very fun duo that is a joy to watch. There are also a number of other fun characters like the charming, superstitious, wheelchair-bound scientist, Dr. Frock and the cunning Dr. Lee who has a rivalry with Dr. Green which leads to a number of funny scenes.

So despite being a fairly graphic horror movie, it’s pretty funny. Now this isn’t always a good thing if executed poorly, but I believe the film hits the humor just right. This ain’t “Godzilla King of the Monsters” type of jokes, here they feel like a natural part of the dialogue and not some stupid quip. They’re also all front-loaded onto the film, so when the monster shows up, it’s no laughing matter.

When it comes to the monster, the Kothoga has an incredible design… when you can see it. Its design is very lizard-like, but its head has these big beetle jaws, and it all comes together to make a striking and memorable monster. The effects were done by Stan Winston Studios, the same people who did effects work for “Terminator”, “Aliens”, “Jurassic Park”, and many other films, and once again they brought their A-game. The practical monster animatronic looks fantastic. There is quite a bit of CGI for when the monster is moving and it is definitely dated, but this is where one of the film’s biggest… aspects, enters the picture.

This film is DARK! And I’m not talking about the tone, I mean I can’t see jack! Now this does have its pros. For instance, it helps the CGI by concealing the monster a bit so that way it’s harder to see the imperfect late 90s CG. It also helps make scenes feel more intense and suspenseful, but it is definitely a bit excessive. Now, don’t worry about flat-out not being able to see the monster, because he is in plenty of more well-lit shots, but overall a great deal of this film is watching silhouettes and flashlights bounce around. 

Is “The Relic” the greatest film of all time? Of course not. It has plenty of issues. The characters aren’t the most fleshed out, it really beats you over the head with the whole superstition theme, it’s a very slow monster movie, and it’s very dark, but if you decide to check it out, I think most will have some fun with it. It’s got some fun dialogue, and enjoyable characters and their interactions are great, the mystery is interesting, and once the film reaches the monster action, it’s a great time. I give this film seven “ex-wives who took custody of the dog” out of 10.

Connor Keating is a junior at Fort Hays State University, studying digital media and journalism. Connor is an old-school movie fan, particularly Japanese monster movies, and is an avid DVD collector.