Relic (2020 film)


Relic is a 2020 horror drama film directed by Natalie Erika James in her directorial debut, from a screenplay by James and Christian White. It stars Emily Mortimer, Robyn Nevin and Bella Heathcote. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020, and was released on July 3, 2020 in the United States by IFC Midnight, and July 10 in Australia on streaming service Stan.

Plot

When Edna, the elderly and widowed matriarch of the family, goes missing, her daughter Kay and granddaughter Sam travel to their remote family home to find her. Soon after her return, they start to discover a sinister presence haunting the house and taking control of Edna.

Cast

In October 2018, Emily Mortimer, Robyn Nevin and Bella Heathcote joined the cast of the film with Natalie Erika James directing from a screenplay she co-wrote alongside Christian White. Jake Gyllenhaal and Riva Marker served as producers on the film, while Anthony Russo and Joe Russo served as executive producers under their Nine Stories Productions and AGBO banners, respectively.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020. Shortly after, IFC Midnight acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film. It was released on July 3, 2020 in the United States.

Reception

Box office

Relic grossed $192,352 from 69 theaters in its opening weekend, finishing first among reported films. It then made $195,674 from 128 theaters in its second weekend.

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 142 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Relic ratchets up its slowly building tension in an expertly crafted atmosphere of dread, adding up to an outstanding feature debut for director/co-writer Natalie Erika James." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Justin Chang, speaking on Fresh Air, said: "There are no shocking twists or contrivances in store in Relic, and not a lot of gore, either. James excels at mining dread and tension from ordinary conversation, and she uses thriller conventions to get at something simple but shattering: the horror of watching a parent slowly deteriorate."