The opening shot, and the sounds that accompany it, are creepy: a close-up of water slowly spilling down carpeted steps, and unnerving noises that would have fit comfortably in “Eraserhead.”
Then it gets eerier, with a shot revealing where that water, now moving across the floor, is going: toward a naked, shivering, elderly woman who’s standing in front of a Christmas tree.
It quickly cuts to sometime later, as Kay (Emily Mortimer) and her adult daughter Sam (Bella Heathcote) are driving up to that same house because Kay has been told by a neighbor friend that her mother, Edna, hasn’t been seen for a few days.
The set-up is presented quickly and in spare style. No one is home, but the place definitely looks lived in. A short while later, filing a missing person report at a police station, Kay says her mom flooded the house last Christmas (ah, yes, that opening scene), and when she spoke to her on the phone a few weeks ago, mom said she was hearing weird sounds and that things in the house were moving around on their own.
Set in rural Australia, and directed and co-written (with Christian White) by first-time feature filmmaker Natalie Erika James, “Relic” presents a tale that, unfortunately, many of us can identify with. Much of it is about an older parent showing signs of dementia, and her child and, in turn her grandchild, not knowing how to handle the situation. That, at least, is what makes up the spine of the story. In addition, there’s an insidious element concerning what might be a presence in the house.
While settling in to figure out their next move, Kay and Sam - sometimes separately, sometimes together - discover that Edna, is a hoarder, that she writes Post-it Notes to herself (“Turn off” next to a light switch; “Flush” in the bathroom; “Don’t follow it” with no reference tip). And they start hearing loud bumps and soft scraping sounds that appear to be coming from the walls.
But the strangest discovery is, when they hear a kettle whistling, and neither one of them put it on, they find Edna (Robyn Nevin) standing in the kitchen, calmly waiting to make a cup of tea.
The immediate question: “Where have you been?” The calm answer: “I went out.” Later on, Kay asks Edna another question: “Why is there blood on your nightgown?” But Edna just changes the subject. The questions keep coming. The answers are evaded or ignored.
The script offers up small bits about all three women. Edna is popping in and out of reality. She can look confused and she can appear fierce. She also has a hobby of carving large candles with sharp knives, so it’s not much fun to be around her in her fierce moods. Kay is tired, forlorn, upset. She’s checked out a retirement home for Edna because she’s worried about her being alone, but she’s still not sure it’s the right thing to do. Sam is caught up in the mystery of the house, and lets curiosity get in the way of common sense.
What the script does well is present a sinister atmosphere that puts all three characters in what might be dangerous situations, and at the same time, makes viewers feel sympathy for all of them.
What it doesn’t do well enough is explain things. There’s a casual mention of another building that was once on the property, and that a window from it was installed in the current house. And there’s a hint of a curse, or something like it. Do we see someone’s hand flash by one of our protagonists in the middle of the night? Is there or is there not something moving under Edna’s bed? Things like that are purposely not made clear, but others are. Suffice it to say, Sam’s curiosity definitely gets the best of her, Kay spends a great deal of time pondering in silence, and Edna is slipping away. Events in the house get intense, then terrifying, and there’s even a brief amount of gore.
That’s all fine. This is, after all, a psychological horror film. It packs some punches, and it all comes together in a visually and emotionally haunting ending. It’s really too bad that the ending doesn’t make much sense.
“Relic” premieres on VOD and streaming services on July 10.
Ed Symkus can be reached at esymkus@rcn.com.
“Relic”
Written by Natalie Erika James and Christian White; directed by Natalie Erika James
With Emily Mortimer, Robyn Nevin, Bella Heathcote
Rated R
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