Movie Talk: The Relic

[JBird]

A monster movie so dark, it makes the Thing look too bright.

Originally Posted by Netflix

A biological mutant goes loose during an opening night gala at Chicago's Museum of Natural History in this chilling monster flick. A cop and two scientists try to unlock the creature's origins and stop it before more lives are taken.

I never had the chance to watch this movie from start to finish. I would usually catch it around the midway point. This movie...while not perfectly good, is still not all that bad, in my opinion. It has the makings of a 50's horror movie with modern sensibilities. Unfortunately, the script is all over the place, and it tries very hard to mimic other horror movies. Essentially, it's Alien in a museum. But like I said, I wouldn't call it all bad, if you like these sorts of movies.

I like the concept of what creates the monster (brought to life by Stan Winston's studio), and how it blends myth with science. And instead of having the cast consist of a line-up of assholes you want to see get killed off, it keeps the jerk quota to a minimum.

Apparently, this is an adaptation of the novel of the same name, and after reading the synopsis for that, I kind of wish it were more accurate to the book. Mainly with how it vilifies the museum it's set in.

All that aside... This movie is fucking dark. I had to raise the brightness levels on my TV just to tell what was what. Even most of the outdoor, daylight scenes looked unlit. I know it's more effective to hide the sub-par CGI monster in the dark, but not the actors.