Joe is back again with another piece and this time he delivers us his Relic Review.
Emily Mortimer’s convincing performance in Relic is squandered in a directionless, mediocre horror film that thinks it is being suspenseful when it really is wading in the water.
When an elderly woman (Robyn Nevin) goes missing, her daughter (Mortimer) and granddaughter (Bella Heathcote) head to her home to find her, leading to the discovery of an evil entity within the home’s walls. And that is about where my understanding of the plot ends.
There is also something about another small building that used to be on the property, and a stained glass window that was repurposed from there to the main house, but aside from strange dreams and a few references, the audience never learns a thing.
As Nevin’s character depends into a possessed state, her daughter and granddaughter sway between taking care of her and putting her in a home.
Ultimately, their continuous investigation of strange noises and spots in the home results in getting trapped behind the walls, which at one point leads to becoming lost in a maze and at another being trapped in a shrinking space.
I truly have no idea what was going on here.
What is clear is that Nevin’s character was taken over by some being that ultimately resulted in (SPOILER) her shedding her skin (which Mortimer’s character then peels off), but that’s about it.
What is the deal with the house? What has Nevin’s character become? Who greenlit a directionless horror movie? All these questions and more… will not be answered.
Writer/director Natalie Erika James does fine job in her first outing, mainly thanks to the performances of the cast. Sadly, however, the slow-moving story development and the lack of a destination buries Relic behind the walls for good.
Relic Review by Joe from Guy At The Movies
Our Rating
Summary
The true horror here is that a boredom-inducing film with little direction would be green-lit, subjecting its solid cast to this exercise of running in place.
