This Austrailian film is a thinly veiled metaphor for dementia in j-horror trappings. Dark and brooding, the one-two punch of existential mental horror and disquieting visuals create a pervasive sense of dread and growing certainty: this will end badly. A slow build allows the characters to earn audience sympathies and understanding, which is essential for the intimate horrors that follow. In every scene, there is an insidious and creeping rot slowly overtaking and staining all it touches: a perfect visual representation for the mental illness and corruption of cherished memories and bonds of blood. The acting is all excellent, with Robyn Nevin giving an unnerving performance as the matriarch whose mind is slowly decomposing. She alternates on a dime between sympathetic and heart-wrenching to malicious and violent, mood shifts familiar to any who have dealt with dementia. Emily Mortimer expressions of resigned heartbreak and grief made me want to send her a kitten STAT!. While overall well filmed, muted color palates and pervasive shadows make it difficult to distinguish the onscreen action and setting. At least once a visual that should have provided a decent fright was indistinguishable from the desaturated background colors. While the slow pace may turn off many, the last act escalates nicely before culminating with a touching yet disquieting close which silently expresses volumes about the genuine horror and tragic impact of this illness upon families.
Relic (2020)