''Dark Relic'' is a 2010

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

horror television film directed by Lorenzo Sena and starring

James Frain James Dominic Frain is an English stage and screen actor. His best known television roles include Thomas Cromwell in the Showtime/ CBC historical drama ''The Tudors'' (2007–2009), Franklin Mott in the HBO drama ''True Blood'' (2010), Warwi ...

. The film was generally poorly received.

Synopsis

In 1099 at

Mount Hermon Mount Hermon ( ar, جبل الشيخ or جبل حرمون / ALA-LC: ''Jabal al-Shaykh'' ("Mountain of the Sheikh") or ''Jabal Haramun''; he, הַר חֶרְמוֹן, ''Har Hermon'') is a mountain cluster constituting the southern end of th ...

north of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, Sir Gregory, an English

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

, finds an ancient relic after a long Crusade. The relic is a piece of the cross Jesus was crucified on. He and his band of Knights then take the relic to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

for a reward. They travel to Rome on a ship. Their

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

s hits a storm and the crew are all swept overboard, the ship is blown off course and

beaches A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

on the coast. The knights abandon the ship and head inland. They find a group of civilians being defended by small band of

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

, their allies, who are being beaten in a battle. The knights step in and defeat the attackers, and two Turks, Hasan and Safa, join their group along with the civilians, one of whom is called Rebecca. The Turks recommend a different route to Rome via land instead of across the sea. They make camp for the night and one of the knights gets attacked by a supernatural

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

and disappears. They find the knight hung up on a tree. Friar George, from the group of civilians, hypothesizes that it is the work of the devil who wants to destroy the relic. Hundreds of dead crows then drop from the sky injuring one of the knights. Robert, one of the knights, opens the chest the relic is in as he is fascinated by it. But as soon as he opens it the group are attacked by a group of wild wolves and another one of them is killed. Robert cuts himself on the relic and his cut gets infected giving him a

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

. They find a farm where they are set upon by a plague of locusts, the knights manage to barricade themselves inside, however some of the civilians are killed. Gregory now starts to believe the

hypothesis A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous obse ...

that the devil is trying to kill them and destroy the relic. They arrive at a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

, where Robert is able to rest and recover from his fever. Gregory shows the relic to the

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

, who declares it a true relic. He informs them that the lettering on the relic is a curse which is attracting evil to them. The

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s at the monastery are infected by the curse and attack the knights, biting and scratching them. The Turks step in and aid the knights in killing the Monks. Gregory tries to destroy the relic by however the relic is unaffected by anything he does to it. Gregory and Hasan now decide they need to return to the Holy Land where the evil of the relic can be contained. Robert’s fever returns driving him mad, in his madness he attacks one of the civilians before collapsing. The knights build a

stretcher A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...

to carry him. They travel through the night, when they are attacked by a flying devil like monster. Friar George quotes from the

bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

to stop it however it breathes fire killing him. Hasan shoots the devil with a holy arrow which drives it away. Gregory buries the relic hoping to hide and later return with an army to kill the devil. In the night Robert turns into a demon, growing

tentacles In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work mainl ...

and attacking Paul. Gregory pushes Robert off the edge of a cliff. They continue the next day. The relic emerges from the ground in front of them causing an avalanche which kills Paul. Rebecca picks up the relic, deciding that as it is following them they need to take it. They come across a town that has been decimated. They find a survivor who tells them it was all the work of the devil. Another knight is infected by the devil, he attacks killing the survivor, Hasan and Safa before Gregory kills him. Now the only survivors, Gregory and Rebecca make a stand to kill the devil. The devil attacks them in the night, Gregory duels with the devil. Rebecca fires arrows at it using a

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fire ...

but they have no effect. Gregory then uses the relic, stabbing the devil with it. The religious effect of the relic causes the devil to explode, killing it and destroying the relic.

Cast

as Sir Gregory *

Clemency Burton-Hill Clemency Margaret Greatrex Burton-Hill (born 1981) is an English broadcaster, author, novelist, journalist and violinist. In her early career she also worked as an actress. In January 2020 she suffered an AVM brain haemorrhage and underwent eme ...

as Rebecca *

Tom Basden Thomas William Basden (born 30 November 1980) is an English actor, comedy writer, and a member of the British four-man sketch group Cowards. He has written and performed extensively for comedy shows on the BBC and Channel 4 and often collabo ...

as Robert *

Alyy Khan Alyy Khan (or Aly Khan, ur, ; born 6 December 1968) is a British-Asian actor and host who has worked in Hollywood, Bollywood and Lollywood films and television series. He is known for his roles in the films '' A Mighty Heart'' (2007), '' ...

as Hasan *

Marija Karan Marija Karan ( sr-cyr, Марија Каран; born 29 April 1982) is a Serbian actress. She had her film debut in '' Kad porastem biću Kengur'' and appeared after this in '' Jesen stiže, dunjo moja''. She was born in Belgrade. In 2007, Kara ...

as Safa *

Samuel West Samuel Alexander Joseph West (born 19 June 1966) is an English actor, narrator and theatre director. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor across theatre, film, television and radio. He often appears as reciter with orche ...

as Friar George * Christian Cooke as Paul * Atanas Srebrev as Arthur

Reception

Dreadcentral gave the film a 2 and a half out of 5, Horror Asylum gave the film a 3 out of 5., Horrortalk gave the film a 2 out of 10, Letterboxd gave the film half a star out of 5., Radio Times gave the film a 2 out of 5., Starburst Magazine gave the film a 5 out of 10.

References

External links

*
BBFC website
{{Phillip J. Roth, state=collapsed 2010 television films 2010 films American fantasy films American supernatural horror films Crusades films Films set in the 11th century Films set in Jerusalem Films set in Israel 2010 fantasy films 2010 horror films 2010s American films