For your Relic-tation

I’ve recently been enjoying Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary’s new podcast, The Video Archives.

It’s fascinating to hear to genuine movie fans (albeit famous ones responsible for making their own films) waxing lyrical about “classics” from the 70s, 80s and 90s - the heyday of the humble VHS tape. I’m also really enjoying their understanding of how films, and Hollywood in general, works. Me, I just write about bits of old films that amused me. These two start talking about why prints might look blacker when digitised, or the joys of watching something filmed on 35mm. But in an interesting way.

It’s not exactly focused on British horror, but it has led me to a couple of interesting viewings - the truly bonkers old “video nasty” Delirium, and the glossy Aliens / The Thing / Predator rip-off The Relic.

The Relic is, as the podcast underlines, only okay. It made me laugh - a lot - for all the wrong reasons (the reaction of one SWAT team member to the revelation that his colleague has been bitten in half is priceless). But I watched it in a new way, thanks to the podcast. It’s also borderline British (I checked on Darrell Buxton’s Pass The Marmalade site) as it was part funded by the BBC. In fact, those Brits reading this can currently watch The Relic for free on the BBC iPlayer.

It’s too American though to make it onto this site. Part-funded by my licence fee it may be, but there has to be something in a film which makes it vaguely British beyond chucking a few quid into the pot. If the Tom Sizemore part had been played by Craig Fairbrass, I’d consider it fair game…

Anyone else think that the creature had a bit of the Rawhead Rexes about it? That and Motorhead’s war pig thingy (especially one shot during the obligatory fiery climax).