Back to trending
The Relic

The Relic

Horror · Mystery · Thriller · 1997

A homicide detective teams up with an evolutionary biologist to hunt a giant creature that is killing people in a Chicago museum.

Movie details

The Relic

“They did the unthinkable. They brought it back.”

1997 Horror · Mystery · Thriller 1h 50m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

A homicide detective teams up with an evolutionary biologist to hunt a giant creature that is killing people in a Chicago museum.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Relic?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Extinction

Extinction

Horror · 2015

And suddenly, overnight, the world came to a halt. Two men, two survivors, one kid, and hatred that separates them. A place forgotten by everyone, including the creatures that inhabit the Earth... until now.

Die Alone

Die Alone

Horror · 2024

Lost in a world reclaimed by nature and overrun by mysterious creatures, Ethan, a young man with amnesia navigates the dangerous landscape in search of his lost love Emma. His journey takes an unexpected turn when he encounters Mae, a hardened and eccentric survivor. Together, Ethan and Mae face threats both human and otherwise before a fateful encounter with Kai unravels a secret that lies just beyond Ethan's fractured memory.

Dark Skies

Dark Skies

Sci-fi · 2013

From the producers of Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and Sinister comes Dark Skies: a supernatural thriller that follows a young family living in the suburbs. As husband and wife Daniel and Lacey Barret witness an escalating series of disturbing events involving their family, their safe and peaceful home quickly unravels. When it becomes clear that the Barret family is being targeted by an unimaginably terrifying and deadly force, Daniel and Lacey take matters in their own hands to solve the mystery of what is after their family.

The Resurrected

The Resurrected

Horror · 1991

Charles Dexter Ward, a wealthy scientist, uses an ancient diary and human remains to begin a terrifying and bloody pursuit for immortality.

28 Years Later

28 Years Later

Horror · 2025

Twenty-eight years after the Rage virus outbreak, a heavily-defended island survives connected to the mainland by a single causeway. When one of the group leaves the island into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.

Alligator

Alligator

Horror · 1980

A baby alligator is flushed down a toilet and survives by eating discarded lab animals that have been injected with growth hormones. The now gigantic animal escapes the city sewers and goes on a rampage, pursued by a cop and a big-game hunter.

Splinter

Splinter

Horror · 2008

When their plans for a nature trip go awry, Polly and boyfriend Seth decide to check into a motel. On their way, they're carjacked and kidnapped by low-rent crooks Dennis and Lacey, who take the victims and their SUV to a nearby gas station. Along the way, they encounter an increasingly terrifying horde of parasites, and if any of them intend to survive, they'll have to outsmart the deadly organisms.

V/H/S/Beyond

V/H/S/Beyond

Horror · 2024

The infinite playground of forbidden worlds and dangerous lifeforms offered by the sci-fi horror genre will lead to the biggest, maddest, bloodiest V/H/S ever.

Books of Blood

Books of Blood

Horror · 2020

A journey into uncharted and forbidden territory through three tales tangled in space and time.

Crimes of the Future

Crimes of the Future

Sci-fi · 2022

With his partner Caprice, celebrity performance artist Saul Tenser publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. An investigator from the National Organ Registry obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed... Their mission — to use Tenser's notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Peter Hyams

Written by

Amy Holden Jones · John Raffo · Rick Jaffa · Amanda Silver

Penelope Ann Miller

Penelope Ann Miller

Dr. Margo Green

Tom Sizemore

Tom Sizemore

Lt. Vincent D'Agosta

Linda Hunt

Linda Hunt

Dr. Ann Cuthbert

James Whitmore

James Whitmore

Dr. Albert Frock

Clayton Rohner

Clayton Rohner

Det. Hollingsworth

Chi Muoi Lo

Chi Muoi Lo

Dr. Greg Lee

T

Thomas Ryan

Tom Parkinson

Court is in session

Put The Relic on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.