Coming soon!
Cast:
James Frain as Sir Gregory
Clemency Burton-Hill as Rebecca
Alyy Khan as Hasan
Marija Karan as Safa
Directed by Lorenzo Sena
Review:
One of the little known facts about the Crusades is the matter of knights being slaughtered by enormous, winged demons. The Catholic Church has done its best to keep this a secret, but the truth always prevails. OK, so 12-foot demons with horns that remind one of the St. Louis Rams logo did not, as far as we know, violently dispose of knights during the Crusades. That does not mean it isn’t a good idea for a Syfy movie.
Going back in time for its latest original movie, Syfy’s Dark Relic begins with a group of weary knights picking up a relic that will be presented as a gift in Rome. The relic is a piece of Jesus’ cross. Unfortunately for Sir Gregory (James Frain) and his men, the devil wants to destroy the relic and will do whatever it can to achieve this goal. When the devil shows itself it is in the form of the aforementioned demon, a tall, dark figure with wings, horns and wicked sharp teeth. To drive the point home he breathes fire as well.
The journey to Rome is full of trials and tribulations. Gregory and his men stumble upon a Turk named Hasan (Alyy Khan) and his wife Safa (Marija Karan) as well as a woman, Rebecca (Clemency Burton-Hill), whose entire family has been killed. This wayward trio will assist the knights in their quest to get the relic to Rome. The quest includes shipwrecks, dead birds, locusts, wolves and possessed monks, among other obstacles. Satan is a determined guy.
Dark Relic, flaws and all, is the kind of Saturday night entertainment Syfy does well. It takes a kind of âeverything but the kitchen sinkâ approach, which keeps things moving along and prevents the viewer from becoming bored. Every time the action slows down a little and tedium threatens to settle in, the devil does its dirty work and quickly revives the proceedings. The kitchen sink approach also includes plenty of religious chatter (believers vs. nonbelievers) in addition to a little romance. A lot goes on in 86 minutes.
Another asset is the performances, particularly those of Frain and Khan. The former, who has done fine work in The Count of Monte Cristo and Showtime’s The Tudor‘s (and will be featured in the upcoming season of True Blood), adds some gravitas. Khan’s Hasan, meanwhile, is an extremely likable character and a perfect complement to the serious Gregory. You actually care about their fate, which is a huge bonus.
The abundant effects are all over the place. They range from poor (the shipwreck) to serviceable (the demon and the wolves) to pretty damn good (the birds, locusts and monks). The sheer volume of them in a low-budget production probably ensures variance in quality, but that doesn’t take away from the fun.
It would be easy to pick apart Dark Relic, and if you don’t care for Syfy movies it’s not going to change your opinion of them. However, the quality acting, somewhat distinctive storyline and occasional gore should be enough to satisfy anyone looking for undemanding entertainment on Saturday night. That is what Syfy aims for and in this particular instance they have succeeded.
