Relic (2020)

Relic (2020) is a slow-burning psychological horror that blends family drama and supernatural mystery. When elderly matriarch Edna disappears from the family’s dilapidated country home, her daughter Kay and granddaughter Sam return to search for answers. Edna soon reappears, but her behavior has shifted—memory lapses, erratic moods and an unsettling physical presence suggest something far more sinister than ordinary dementia. As the women confront the house’s encroaching decay, they must reckon with grief, generational trauma and an ambiguous force that may be rooted in both mind and place. What viewers will experience - A quiet, cumulative dread rather than jump-scare shocks: tension grows through atmosphere, pacing and mounting unease. - Emotional weight: the film foregrounds empathy for dementia’s effects on families, making the horror feel intimate and tragic. - Strong performances (notably Emily Mortimer, Bella Heathcote and Robyn Nevin) that ground the supernatural ambiguity in real grief. - Creepy, claustrophobic production design and sound work that make the house itself feel like a character consuming its inhabitants. - An ending that leans into ambiguity—psychological and supernatural readings both hold up, leaving you unsettled and thinking afterward. Recommended for viewers who like haunted-house stories with emotional depth, slow tension, and a focus on character-driven, unsettling horror.

Actors: Robyn Nevin, Emily Mortimer, Bella Heathcote

Director: Natalie Erika James

Runtime: 89 min

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery

5.4 /10 77 /100 6.0 /10 6.4 /10