As members of the independent film community, we’re all in this creative struggle together. You have stories to tell, and we want to hear them. Short films are a great way to tell big stories with what little DIY film resources we have at hand. J.M. Logan’s The Relic tells one such big story.
The film opens right in the middle of the action. A team of explorers burst into their secluded cabin in the woods with what appears to be the remains of an emaciated body. The problem is the body is still alive. It’s, in fact, bloody, barely breathing, and saying something mystically unintelligible.
“…bloody, barely breathing, and saying something mystically unintelligible.”
While the team attempts to revive whatever this is, we learn that one of their team members was left behind in the panic, there’s an ancient legend they may have awakened, and something sinister is watching them from a distance.
Writer/director Logan does two things right in his 14-minute short. First, he starts fast and pulls us into what would be the first big reveal in a typical supernatural thriller. Logan brilliantly gets into the action, sets a tone of urgency, and then reveals enough information about the mystery to whet the appetite.
The rest of the short is just slowly lifting the veil on the big reveal/set piece at the end. If The Relic is a movie to further establish J.M. Logan’s filmmaking portfolio (see Lunch Ladies), he is ready for a much bigger next project.
"…he starts fast and pulls us into what would be the first big reveal..."
WOW!! Thank you FILM THREAT!!!! This is so exciting!!!
THE RELIC will be streaming on demand as part of HORROR SHORTS A at NIGHTMARES FILM FESTIVAL (all online this year!) through Sunday Oct 25 — and playing MORBIDO starting October 31! Check us out along with some other amazingly wonderful programming from these festivals!
Whiskey time. FILM THREAT SUCKS!