Dark Relic

Dark Relic is a 2010 fantasy horror television film directed by Lorenzo Sena, with James Frain in the lead role. The story begins in 1099, when English knight Sir Gregory discovers a piece of the cross used in Jesus’s crucifixion at Mount Hermon, north of Jerusalem. He and his fellow knights set sail for Rome to claim a reward for the relic.

A storm sweeps the crew overboard and drives the ship off course, forcing it aground. The knights abandon the vessel and head inland. They come across a group of civilians defended by a small band of Turkish allies, who are losing a battle. The knights intervene, defeat the attackers, and two Turks—Hasan and Safa—join them, along with the civilians, including a woman named Rebecca. The Turks suggest a land route to Rome instead of continuing by sea.

That night, a supernatural devil attacks the camp, and one knight vanishes, later found hanging from a tree. Friar George, one of the civilians, proposes that the devil wants to destroy the relic. Hundreds of dead crows then fall from the sky, injuring another knight. Fascinated by the relic, the knight Robert opens its chest, and the group is immediately set upon by wolves, killing another member. Robert cuts himself on the relic, and the wound becomes infected, giving him a fever.

At a farm, a plague of locusts strikes; the knights barricade themselves inside, but some civilians die. Gregory begins to believe the devil is targeting them. They reach a monastery, where Robert rests. Gregory shows the relic to the Abbot, who confirms its authenticity but reveals that the lettering on it is a curse attracting evil. The monks become infected and attack, biting and scratching. Hasan and Safa help the knights kill the monks. Gregory tries to destroy the relic but fails. He and Hasan decide they must return to the Holy Land to contain the relic’s evil.

Robert’s fever returns, driving him mad; he attacks a civilian and collapses. The knights build a stretcher for him. Traveling at night, they are attacked by a flying devil. Friar George quotes the Bible to repel it, but the devil breathes fire, killing him. Hasan shoots the devil with a holy arrow, driving it away. Gregory buries the relic, planning to return with an army. That night, Robert transforms into a demon with tentacles and attacks Paul. Gregory pushes Robert off a cliff.