DAILY CALL SHEET: JANUARY 12, 2025

The Relic (1997) Something is beheading people at the the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and removing their hypothalami. With the help of some cantankerous cops, it's up to the institution's evolutionary biologists to determine what's going on, that is if they can literally keep their heads about them long enough to solve the mystery before the night of the museum's annual fundraising gala. With solid acting from the likes of Tom Sizemore and Penelope Ann Miller, not to mention a pretty nifty monster design, this is the kind of dependable B-level creature feature one could often find in cinemas before the millennium changed.

TIL: The act of placing a relic (a piece of a Saint's body) underneath the altar stone of a Catholic Church goes all the way back to Christianity's beginning when, by necessity, Christians assembled in the Catacombs. A letter from the 2nd Century mentions holding mass over the remains of St. Polycarp, noting, "we took up his bones, more valuable to us than precious stones and finer than refined gold. We laid them in a suitable place, where the Lord will permit us to gather ourselves together, as we are able, in gladness and joy.” The practice is not strictly required these days (there's only so many parts of Saints to go around), but it's still strongly encouraged.

The Night Stalker (1972) A number of bloodless corpses turn up along the Las Vegas Strip, leading investigative reporter Carl Kolchak to suspect a vampire is involved. Both his boss and the authorities tell him to back off the story, even after a man breaks into a blood bank and runs off after being shot multiple times. However, undeterred, Kolchak continues to pursue the story in the name of truth. The script is fairly boilerplate for an ABC movie of the week, but Darren McGavin's portrayal of the beatdown, gruff journalist is an instant classic and makes the movie a must watch. No wonder people clamored  for more.

TIL: Apologetics, meaning to give a reason or defense of an action, comes from the Greek word 'apologian'. That's the word which appears in the original texts of 1 Peter wherein the apostle encouraged Christians to, much like Kolchak, stand up for the truth no matter what. As he put it, we should "always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame."