The Relic
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: January 10, 1997 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
7
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
EmpireKim 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. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen 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. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
All of this is actually a lot of fun, if you like special effects and gore. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderLisa 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. Read full review
70
VarietyEmanuel Levy
Still, this strikingly proficient production boasts genuinely scary thrills and first-rate visual and creature effects. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesJohn 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. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyTy Burr
If you can stagger around the plot holes (how'd a Brazilian cargo ship with a dead crew get to Lake Michigan?), the last 30 minutes are pure, dumb monster-movie fun. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleRussell 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. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames 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. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter 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. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubKeith 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. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
There's nothing much new going on here (we feel compelled to point out the resemblance to one of the worst-ever episodes of The X-Files, "Teso Los Bichos"), but it's all slickly done, with the requisite big jumps, false leads, weird science and scary trips down dark corridors. Read full review
25
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
It took four people to write the screenplay for The Relic. All I can say is that I hope these people have not quit their day jobs. Read full review
10
Washington PostRichard Harrington
As written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, The Relic deserved to be taken off the shelf; as adapted by a quartet of screenwriters and directed by Peter Hyams, it should have been left on one. Read full review
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