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The Relic

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United Kingdom, Germany, Japan · 1997
Rated R · 1h 50m
Director Peter Hyams
Starring Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Sizemore, Linda Hunt, James Whitmore
Genre Horror, Mystery, Thriller

A series of incredibly gruesome murders in the Chicago Field Museum alarm a local detective. With help from a brilliant biologist from the museum, he discovers the perpetrator is a terrifying lizard-like creature from South America. The duo must capture and defeat the monster before the museum's annual gala.

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What are critics saying?

50

ReelViews by James Berardinelli

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.

60

Los Angeles Times by John Anderson

Hyams the director ("Sudden Death," "Timecop," "The Star Chamber") operates at too much of a fevered pitch for things not to eventually get out of hand -- accelerating violence and horror eventually hit maximum velocity and warp into nonsense, no matter how erudite the script.

50

The A.V. Club by Keith Phipps

The monster effects, as designed by Stan Winston, are stunners, but after Twister, it should be obvious that it's not the quality of the effects that matter so much as the quality of the film in which they appear.

80

Empire by Kim Newman

Unpretentiously and likeable Peter Hyams is one of the few hacks still working at this budget level, and he relishes the chance to make an audience jump, not only with some neat monster effects and a pile of mutilated corpses but also with some subtleties of editing and lighting, plus one of the loudest jump-out-of-your-seat soundtracks in a recent memory.

70

Chicago Reader by Lisa Alspector

But Peter Hyams, who's both director and director of photography, forces us to constantly strain to see what isn't there, until ultimately the screen explodes in welcome light, a cathartic finale in broad visceral terms even if the drama hasn't inspired much emotion.

50

San Francisco Chronicle by Peter Stack

Sizemore ("Heat") and Miller, though saddled with a lot of scientific DNA jargon, are really the only lively people in this dense, gruesome film that stubbornly refuses to break out of its contrived atmosphere.

50

Austin Chronicle by Russell Smith

Much like the DNA-scrambled beast to which the title alludes, this film is a chimerical chop-shop product, consisting mostly of spare parts pulled from Alien, Jurassic Park, and even The Ghost and the Darkness.

80

The New York Times by Stephen Holden

Yes, we've seen it all before. But The Relic proves that the hoariest cliches, when stirred together with enough money, shaken vigorously and artfully lighted, can still make the adrenaline surge.

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