The Relic
The brief
Peter Hyams cranks up the claustrophobic dread as something monstrous stalks the shadowy halls of a Chicago museum, trapping visitors and staff in a nightmare they can't escape. The film leans hard into practical effects and old-school creature feature thrills, with Penelope Ann Miller holding her own as the scientist trying to solve the mystery while Tom Sizemore's gruff cop just wants everyone to survive. It's got that late 90s studio horror energy - slick production values meeting genuinely creepy monster mayhem, all building to some serious jump scares in the museum's dark corridors. Perfect for anyone who misses when creature features had real bite and weren't afraid to get messy.
The verdict
If you crave old-school creature features with genuine scares, practical monster effects, and claustrophobic museum-set terror, this is a satisfying late 90s horror throwback that delivers on pure monster movie thrills. If you prefer psychological horror over straightforward creature mayhem or get impatient with nearly two-hour runtimes, you'll find this too long and formulaic for your taste.
Watch with
- 👥 Horror fans who love creature features
- ⚠️ Skip with kids - genuinely scary
- ⚠️ Not for gore-sensitive viewers
Heads up
- Frequent jump scares throughout (frequent)
- Graphic monster violence and gore (moderate)
- People eaten/killed by creature (frequent)
- Dark enclosed spaces (claustrophobic) (moderate)
Credits
- Director
- Peter Hyams
- Cast
- Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Sizemore, Linda Hunt, James Whitmore, Clayton Rohner, Chi Muoi Lo, Thomas Ryan
Official synopsis
A homicide detective teams up with an evolutionary biologist to hunt a giant creature that is killing people
