The Relic

Pot's a misdemeanour. Decapitation seems a bit severe.

The Relic is directed by Peter Hyams (also cinematographer) and based on the best-selling novel written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. The film stars Tom Sizemore, Penelope Ann Miller, James Whitmore and Linda Hunt. The music score is composed by John Debney.

The Museum of Natural History in Chicago takes delivery of some crates from South America. Sent by an employee, John Whitney, one of the crates appears to be just full of leaves. However, just as the museum prepares to launch a major exhibition, where all the city's top brass will be present, a security guard is horrifically killed. Can superstitious cop Lt. Vincent D'Agosta (Sizemore) and evolutionary biologist Dr. M...

More than a little genuinely funny dialogue, and I think the creature had a pretty cool design... I'm pretty sure? I don't know though, because every time it appears it's in virtually complete darkness.

Final rating:½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didnt quite work as a whole.

Linda Hunt is the museum curator "Cuthbert" who is always on the look out for ways to raise cash. A big charity fundraiser with the mayor and other dignitaries is her top priority but that might be about to be kiboshed as police lieutenant "D'Agosta" (Tom Sizemore) is looking into some curious deaths that see the corpses robbed of their hypothalami! Meantime, scientist "Margo" (Penelope Ann Miller) is studying the body of a big beetle that she squashed (finally finding a good use for an half-ton chemistry book!) that appears to have hybrid DNA of a bug and a lizard. She teams up with the detective and pretty soon they are in the basement of the museum with all hell breaking lose and poor old "Cuthbert" finding her big posh do turning into s...