About the Movie | therelicuniverse

About the Movie
from Short to Feature Film

It all started with a short film.

After directing the horror-comedy short LUNCH LADIES, Josh Logan decided it was time to take on an even more challenging project -- write the film he'd always wanted to make. A film that encompassed everything he's always loved about movies:

monsters, treasure, and adventure.

He built the script around as many creative filmmaking tricks he could think of, and worked in everything he and his friends could do all on their own. A small crew of multi-talented creatives who could come together to make something awesome would keep the costs down, while also turning out extremely high level work.

And he knew exactly who to call first.

Josh met Matt Falletta and Roger Nall working in F/X shops and had worked together on innumerable projects over more than 25 years.

Fellow F/X shop crew/buds/gangsters who share the philosophy that movies just feel better when as much is captured in camera as possible.

Everything they made would prioritize practical FX over CG, and used in harmony with visual effects, not being overtaken by them.

Their sensibility of high-end / hand-made, kept every sequence feeling tactile, and connected to the audience.

With Logan's script plus extensive experience in every aspect of making movies, Matt's special FX wizardry, and Roger's cinematography and visual effects background, they pulled together a small team to make a balls-out cosmic horror short for a budget that baffled anyone who watched.

And then, just as pre-production was kicking off -- a pandemic. In their creative restlessness the film took on a new purpose, to create an award winning film safely and in spite of this unforeseen situation.

Turns out, it was among the first film permits issued in California and one of the first productions approved by SAG in 2020.

The challenge enhanced creativity, collaborative intimacy, and it was about the most fun any of them could have imagined

THE RELIC had its premiere at Telluride Horror Show, going on to FilmQuest, Nightmares, Fantasia, and almost a hundred more, touring the world for a year.

The short Josh had always wanted to make found an audience, and he begin to consider where else this concept could go.

"The number one short of Nightmares Film Festival!"

-Dread Central

"...brilliantly gets into the action, sets a tone of urgency, and then reveals enough information about the mystery to whet the appetite."

-Film Threat

"Thank you for making a Lovecraft inspired film that doesn't make me want to pour bleach in my eyes!"

-Erik Cooper, Lead Programmer

Telluride Horror Show

watch the award winning short film THE RELIC!

Play The Relic | Short Film

Learn more about

Justice for Johnny Wactor

The Path to a Feature

Logan has always had a love of history, mythology and a fascination with the cosmos, and further inspired by the gothic horror writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, THE RELIC UNIVERSE weaves together a dark cosmic adventure mythos that blends mysteries stories from humanity's past with real-world mythology -- and fills in the holes with monsters.

The universe of THE RELIC is all about what could have happened when history wasn't looking.

THE RELIC | DRAGON grew from two sources -- Francisco Coronado's disastrous 1540 expedition into the American Southwest, and the myth from the Viking Sagas, "Andvari's Treasure" -- the same tale that is believed to have inspired J.R.R. Tolkien to write THE HOBBIT.

A cursed, golden ring with promises of riches that made everyone kill or die to possess it, and a conquistador, lost in an alien world, on a disastrous mission to find the city of gold, shrouded in mystery

What could go wrong?

Taking the same philosophy from the production of the short film of "everyone does everything", Josh, Matt and Roger assembled a small team of polyglot filmmakers in Central Texas -- and put everything on the table to make DRAGON look and feel like a movie ten-times its small indie budget.

Because of this incredible family, and the creatively supportive atmosphere of hard work and kindness -- the movie was as much fun to make as it is to watch.