Relic

Name: Relic
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Released: July 10, 2020
Duration: 89 min
Rating: 77
Cast: Bella Heathcote, Catherine Glavicic, Chris Bunton, Christina O'Neill, Emily Mortimer

2020

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 67 Ratings

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6.2

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6.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 67 Ratings

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Relic

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Movie Details & Credits

IFC Midnight | Release Date (Streaming): July 10, 2020 | R

Starring: Bella Heathcote, Catherine Glavicic, Chris Bunton, Christina O'Neill, Emily Mortimer, Jeremy Stanford, John Browning, Robin Northover, Robyn Nevin, Steve Rodgers

Summary: When octogenarian Edna inexplicably vanishes, her daughter Kay (Emily Mortimer) and granddaughter Sam (Bella Heathcote) rush to their family’s decaying country home and find 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 motherWhen octogenarian Edna inexplicably vanishes, her daughter Kay (Emily Mortimer) and granddaughter Sam (Bella Heathcote) rush to their family’s decaying country home and find 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. However, as Edna’s behavior turns increasingly volatile, both begin to sense that an insidious presence in the house might be taking control of her.… Expand

Director: Natalie Erika James

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Horror

Rating: R

Runtime: 89 min

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Critic Reviews

The Playlist Dilara Elbir

Jul 7, 2020

James 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. Read full review

Richard Roeper

Jul 10, 2020

Relic is the feel-dread movie of the year. Read full review

Matthew Anderson

Nov 10, 2020

Re-framing more traditional genre choices for representing dementia, the Japanese-Australian filmmaker has crafted a chilling, mysterious horror to communicate the confusion and terror caused by diminishing intellectual acuity. Read full review

Richard Whittaker

Jul 7, 2020

The comparisons to "Hereditary," Ari Aster's febrile masterpiece of familial dysfunction, are inevitable, and while James doesn't quite reach that film's perturbing depths she brings a different insight. Read full review

G. Allen Johnson

Jul 7, 2020

Just to re-emphasize, Relic is not a documentary about dementia, or a medically accurate look at the disease in the way that films such as “Away from Her” with Julie Christie or “Still Alice” with Julianne Moore were. It is a film that springs from the id, from deep-seated fear of a disease we don’t fully understand. Read full review

Angelica Jade Bastien

Jul 11, 2020

What makes this movie so frustrating is that it ends on an intriguing message about what we inherit, what we’re bound to through our families. But without the heft of sincere horror behind it, Relic falls short of its potential and we’re left wondering how terrifying this message actually is. Read full review

Steven Scaife

Jul 7, 2020

The film heralds the arrival a bold and formidable voice in horror cinema. Read full review

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User Reviews

thethiagoguzzo

Jul 11, 2020

Natalie Erika James in her incredible debut, brought my favourite film of the year so far. "Relic" is smart, tense, scary and incredibly beautiful. It has a great cast (but Mortimer's performance is the spotlight for me) and the movie builds to an electric third act with a powerfulNatalie Erika James in her incredible debut, brought my favourite film of the year so far. "Relic" is smart, tense, scary and incredibly beautiful. It has a great cast (but Mortimer's performance is the spotlight for me) and the movie builds to an electric third act with a powerful emotional punch that will leave you in tears while the credits roll.… Expand

2 of 8 users found this helpful26

ejbeeby

Apr 4, 2021

Having an aging parent, the horror film. The best horror movies have something to say about what's wrong with everyday life and this is one of them.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

PalpetineSheev

Jul 16, 2020

Dark, depressing, and definitely not for everyone. I totally understand why there are so many people who hated this movie. Personally though, the strong performances, excellent cinematography, and strong use of sound and music made this an enjoyably depressing experience.

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

JLuis_001

Jul 25, 2020

A haunted house film that benefits much more from the atmosphere than from the tension it manages to conjure.
Certainly, those who expect a horror story riddled with cheap jump scares will be greatly disappointed.
Like many recent films of the genre that have chosen to be deeper than manyA haunted house film that benefits much more from the atmosphere than from the tension it manages to conjure.
Certainly, those who expect a horror story riddled with cheap jump scares will be greatly disappointed.

Like many recent films of the genre that have chosen to be deeper than many of the cheap productions that we see from studios like Blumhouse.
For what it matters, Relic is a story about deeply buried memories of past trauma.

Being a story about a ''haunted house'', the metaphor and the whole core of the matter lies in the fact that that home is a reflection of the mind state of its inhabitant and I say inhabitant because despite the fact that the three main characters are intertwined by blood. It's just one that is mentally drifting away.
And when that mind begins to collapse, the house begins to do the same.

This is a good slow-burner and to be honest while the supernatural element is present and is clearly an important part of the narrative, the essence of this story is more an allegory of a psychological breakdown and family issues.
Something that has been explored in recent and more successful films like Hereditary.

So I warn viewers because that tone and ambiguity are crucial for how this film works.

For my part I can only say that if you're into this kind of horror films, go for it.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

GodOne

Jul 13, 2020

Good actors, terrible screenplay without any sense. Slow and the end is just inserted without any reason just to make some obscure metaphors. Don't call this horror please, it's a scam.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

hanteliai

Apr 9, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Начало фильма очень скучное. Что, куда и зачем вообще непонятно. С персонажами не знакомят, нет никакой экспозиции толком. Если не прочитал описание перед просмотром, так вообще ничего не поймёшь. Немного фильм преображается уже под конец, где уже хоть что-то происходит и нет желания заснуть. Саму концовку слили, хотя конечный смысл который вложили авторы и хотели донести понятен. Ну такое одним словом, не рекомендую.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Hortontay

Dec 10, 2020

These positive reviews have to be fake. This movie was so slow the ending was one of the lamest endings on earth. I'm glad I was able to leave a 0 rating. Trust me, do not watch this movie.

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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