Director – Natalie Erika James (Tritch, Burrow)
Starring – Emily Mortimer (Shutter Island, Scream 3), Robyn Nevin (The Matrix Reloaded, Gods of Egypt), and Bella Heathcote (The Neon Demon, Dark Shadows)
Release Date- 2020
Rating – 2/5
Once Halloween was over I wanted to take a few weeks to watch some non-horror movies that I’ve accumilated over the last few years. However, I had to put that on pause after I received a few packages of horror movies to review. After watching a few that was sent to me from MVD I decided it was time to dig into a recent movie that was sent over from Scream Factory and IFC Midnight. I want to thank them both for sending over 2020’s Relic to review!
**spoiler Alert** The film follows a mother and daughter that return to their family home when their grandmother goes missing. A few days after she goes missing she returns home as if nothing had happened but she is not herself. Her daughter thinks it’s the early signs of dementia while her granddaughter beleives nothing is wrong. However, a few days goes by and both can clearly see that she is not herself and something more sinister is at play here. **spoiler Alert**
I was really interested in this one. I loved all the posters I had seen for the movie and the tagline “everything decays” really pulled me in. Sadly, the movie was extremely dull and the story was painfully predictable. If you rarely venture into the genre you may have enjoyed it but if you live and breathe horror then you know exactly where the story is taking you.
The acting in this one is great. I absolutely loved Mortimer, Nevin, and Heathcote in the film. I feel this movie was perfectly cast and one of the only things the movie got right. The characters are great, the cast is powerful and dedicated to their roles, and I can totally see them teaming up for another film in the near future.
The story for this one could have been a solid horror thriller that is reminiscent of the films of A24 that we’ve seen in recent years. The film does a great job at building atmosphere and tension but the story is predictable which renders the atmosphere pointless. If you know what is coming then the mood is gone. Predictability kills the film.
Finally, the film has some solid make-up effects with some gooey moments that work but for those of you wanting gore will be very disappointed. Overall, Relic was not for me. I loved the cast and the tone the film had but the story is just too predictable which resulted in a film that lost it’s impact. This is one I would recommend skipping.
