When elderly mother Edna inexplicably vanishes, her daughter Kay and granddaughter Sam rush to their family's decaying country home, finding clues of her increasing dementia scattered around the house in her absence. After Edna returns just as mysteriously as she disappeared, Kay's concern that her mother seems unwilling or unable to say where she's been clashes with Sam's unabashed enthusiasm to have her grandma back. As Edna's behavior turns increasingly volatile, both begi... (Full plot summary below)
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When elderly mother Edna inexplicably vanishes, her daughter Kay and granddaughter Sam rush to their family's decaying country home, finding clues of her increasing dementia scattered around the house in her absence. After Edna returns just as mysteriously as she disappeared, Kay's concern that her mother seems unwilling or unable to say where she's been clashes with Sam's unabashed enthusiasm to have her grandma back. As Edna's behavior turns increasingly volatile, both begin to sense that an insidious presence in the house might be taking control of her. With RELIC, first-time writer/director Natalie Erika James crafts an unforgettable new spin on the haunted-house movie.
Leave your thoughts about Relic.
| Little White LiesAimee KnightRelic is an exercise in control and denial. |
| Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperRelic is the feel-dread movie of the year. |
| LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenGreat horror movies are often built on guilt, and that’s the case with Relic. The film has creeping mold, strange sounds in the night, and gore to spare, but at heart it’s about the increasing shame a middle-aged woman feels for the distance she’s kept from her aging mother. |
| The New YorkerAnthony LaneIt’s a hell of a performance by Robyn Nevin, who’s had a long and commanding career on the Australian stage. |
| The PlaylistDilara ElbirJames often frames her characters in close-ups with still backgrounds and lingers there for far too long, creating a transfixing atmosphere of discomfort. Through all her aesthetic craft, the house transforms into a physical manifestation of dementia with forgotten rooms, claustrophobic spaces, and walls that slowly close in on each other. |
| The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisRelic deftly merges the familiar bumps and groans of the haunted-house movie with a potent allegory for the devastation of dementia. |
| Los Angeles TimesGeoff BerkshireFor most of its running time, Relic feels more like a chamber piece than a full-fledged horror outing, but a nail-biting third act ups the ante. |
| Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJames makes some confident decisions in the film’s last act, showing a welcome trust in the audience, particularly for a debut feature. She also gets fascinating performances out of her actors — each does a lot with a little. The performances aren’t as muted as they are quietly, intensely focused. |
| EmpireIan FreerGeneric title, strong movie. Relic is smart (but never smart-arse) horror. What it lacks in incident it makes up for in a troika of top turns and tangible tension in service to an interesting parable about the gnawing effects of dementia. |
| Consequence of SoundJenn AdamsThe conclusion of Relic is haunting, beautiful, and cathartic. |
