About a week ago I received some good news and some bad news. The good news was that I discovered a new release that I actually liked the look of! Relic, an Australian horror that had gotten nothing but rave reviews. The bad news was that, after watching it, I wasn’t sure if I liked it.

I know what the film is about and what it’s trying to do (and it does it well), it just didn’t have the impact on me it seems to have had on everyone else, which may say more about myself than the film.

A young woman and her mother move into her aging grandmother’s rural home. As they adjust to her forgetful and volatile behaviour, they realise that something more sinister is behind the old woman’s deterioration.

The Characters

Relic is unapologetically grim. The tone is pretty rigid and rarely fluctuates, even when it does it’s usually from disturbing to upsetting to disturbing again. The characters grin with joy maybe once or twice in the whole film. This firm atmosphere could make for a dull and repetitive story but this isn’t really the case with Relic. It may not have the tonal contrast of Get Out or Shaun of the Dead but with its intriguing premise and the dilemmas it puts its characters through, you can’t help but be compelled.

The dialogue between the mother and daughter informs us of the family’s history and the drama they’ve endured. All three women are isolated from each other in some way. Before moving in, we learn that the mother and daughter haven’t spoken to each other in weeks. The conversations between the mother and grandmother are particularly tense at times, conveying a relationship that was once full of love but is gradually decaying with resentment.

There’re many times where you can tell that the mother and daughter just want to give up and leave, however the film reminds you that the trio are a family and that there was once a great bond, hence the grandmother’s tragic dimension.

At first she comes across as grumpy and defensive, assumedly due to the frustration of her shrinking independence and poor relations with her daughter and granddaughter. Then things happen. Unexplained noises are heard and a mysterious mould appears around the house. The grandmother seems very familiar and frightened of these occurrences, leading you to discover that she too is a victim. A victim of not only the strain of her own deteriorating mind but of this unknown presence.

The Horror

You don’t need a PhD in English literature to see that Relic is about Alzheimer’s. All the components of the film express the theme of decay from the forgetful behaviour of the grandmother to the mould-like quality of the antagonist. Relic deals with the horror of watching a loved one degenerate, seeing them lose more and more of who they are until they’re eventually gone.

It’s a timely theme that, in a way, is perfect for the horror genre to deal with. Relic is full of good old-fashioned jumpscares, creepy sounds and unbearable suspense but it also has a good deal of gore. Age entails physical decay as well as mental and Relic conveys it with excruciating detail.  

It’s a good original horror film. So why am I not in love with it?!

Perhaps my lack of experience with the subject matter may have something to do with it. Or maybe the lack of tonal contrast. While I respected the film’s overall glum atmosphere as I thought it was appropriate for the subject matter, I found it a bit disengaging at times. It felt like being told a really good joke over and over again.

One thing I’m certain of however is that I admired Relic and I recommend to everyone, regardless of their preferences as thematically I think all of us will have something to say about Relic, and that’s something I can’t say about the majority of films I see!

I give Relic a solid 8 out of 10.