Relic 2020

Relic 2020

Directed by: Natalie Erika James

Genre: Psychological-Horror

Starring: Emily Mortimer, Bella Heathcote, and Robyn Nevin.

Psychological horror film about a hereditary disease that can consume the life of the entire family, not just the person who is suffering from it. The story was differently narrated, to show how dementia can be horrifying as the mind deteriorates and eat the life away until they eventually die, in this case Edna is already suffering from a severe case not only she forgets a lot of things but both Kay her daughter and her Granddaughter Sam witnesses her slipping-away from herself.

Horror movies doesn’t necessarily mean a man will chase you with a chainsaw, or Freddie Kruger will come out from your dream and slice you with his claw-knives,  horror can be anything like a house decaying from a memory that is lost, from watching one of your loved-ones slowly dying in-front of you, while you’re bothered with guilt of neglect. 

It was told in a metaphoric and hyperbolic strategy to clearly show decline and death, the execution style of the story is quite similar to The Babadook by Jennifer Kent, where a single Parent was suffering with depression and grief over a death of her Husband, as her grief consumes her mentality she manifested Babadook in its physical form by using a pop-up book with a terrifying threat, that you can’t get rid of The Babadook.

Though in this case the creator uses a House to symbolize Edna’s deteriorating mind, the house shifts its room where you might be trapped, lost, or forgotten, a depiction of what’s happening to Edna’s head manifesting to its physical form can be metaphoric in its sense that Kay and Sam can be seen struggling in the latter part of the of the third act or by interpretation, this is how they approach the situation, that Dementia can be very scary or horrifying experience in family’s household, that is at least how the creator wants us to see or feel, because what they are experiencing might be interpreted hyperbolically, but it clearly shows how an entire family can be affected with this decline, and there is nothing more terrifying than to see a person you love fade away even they are still breathing. 

It was a good watch though it’s a bit slow-paced, but there are lots of good stuff in terms of style of its story-telling, it is indeed there are many ways to tell a horrifying story whether it can be gory, demonic, or just simply an old woman with decaying house in the countryside,missing for many days and reappears like nothing happens, but only few viewers will be able to understand this type of story telling though, but over all it was well acted not overly done, and the story structuring was executed with style and originality in the film, it was very appealing and intriguing and I would say simply not everybody’s cup of tea, if you expect a real jump scare.  say simply not everybody’s cup of tea, if you expect a real jump scare.

©️Eessangj August 2020