The 90s saw a brief trend in creature features, alien movies and monster movies, perhaps sparked by the gigantic success of Jurassic Park. Pre-Park, we’d had Arachnophobia and Tremors, and after we got the likes of Species, Mimic, Anaconda, Deep Rising, and The Faculty. The Alien franchise also got two entries in the 90s.
One movie that was perhaps seen as an ‘Alien knockoff’ at the time, but has since gained a solid reputation thanks to its cool creature design and practical effects is The Relic, which is now available on Amazon’s Prime Video in the US.
Filmed on location at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, The Relic features a enormous South American reptilian beast called a Kothoga rampaging around the museum, sucking out human brains. It doesn’t have any big-name stars, with the cast made up of Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Sizemore, Linda Hunt, and James Whitmore.
The Relic didn’t do as well at the box office as Species or Anaconda, but the creature has stood the test of time, thanks to the work of legendary make-up effects creator Stan Winston. Winston had worked on both Jurassic Park and Aliens – and that influence can be felt in The Relic.
The Relic pulls the clever Jaws trick of hiding the creature reveal until the final thirty minutes of the movie, increasing its impact. Surprisingly scary and gory at times, this is the kind of movie that would never be R-rated today, and would much more likely be pitched at family audiences.
So, be sure to check out The Relic now that it’s available on Prime in the US, as it’s very much a product of its time and not something that would be made today. And check out our guide to the best monster movies.