Relic — A Review

6th August, 2020.

Right … I have to confess to being in a funny mood, last night.

Which, frankly?

Is when I filmed that video.

Frankly?   I wanted to watch a movie: and had one lined up.

Courtesy of a Facebook group I belong to, called Horror Movie Maniacs.

They were having a watch party.

And, while the technology would work on my set up, it wasn’t exactly what you call perfect.

So I managed to get a copy through other sources.

I have to confess, though I was in a funny mood, last night: so only actually got through half of the film.

I do know this, though.

For starters … ?   I’ve boiled vegetables on both nights.

Secondly?   I’ve seen the rest of the film.

Thirdly?

Yes: Relic is interesting.

~≈®≈~

Relic sees Kay (Emily Mortimer) phoned by the police station near to where her mother lives: as Edna (Robin Nevin) — now in her eighties, and getting ‘forgetful’ — has gone missing.

Kay eventually finds Edna: with help from her own daughter, Sam (Bella Heathcote*).

It’s only when the pair get Edna back to the house they realise two things.

That Edna’s dementia seems to be getting worse … 

And that there really could be something else in the house.

Something … or someone … 

~≈®≈~

Now … ?

Interesting … ?

I’ll happily admit, I went to bed early, last night.

I suffer with mild depression: and, sometimes?

That sees me depressed enough that going to bed early: early enough that my nine year old nephew would say “That’s really early, Uncle Paul!”

That did not stop me wanting to finish watching Relic.

Has that patience paid off?

Have I seen a good film?

Yes, I have!

Relic is a horror film that concentrates not on gore, or a deranged slasher: but on turning a medical condition — dementia, in this case — into a … 

Well, not into a standard slasher villain, but into creaks.   Mould.   Sudden disappearance.

Some of the most effective scares?

Were literally psychological.

Sam, the granddaughter?

Gets trapped in some of the house’s crawlspaces and corridors: the terror of these scenes coming not from a feeling of being chased but good old fashioned claustrophobia … and the feeling not only of being trapped, but of being lost!

It’s only when Sam works out she’s near her grandmother’s overfilling bath, she finds her way out.

What only adds to the film’s ability to unnerve?

Is that killer sound track.

Quite when I heard the like of that … ?

I honestly couldn’t tell you.

Right now?   The only thing I could compare Relic to?   Is The Babadook.

Both represent some of Australia’s finest movie hours.

Relic
★★★★

*        Who I’d last seen in The Man In The High Castle.