Movie spotlight
Relic 1
The second film in the series, 'Relic 1' forms part of Larry Achiampong's Relic Traveller: Phase 1, a multi-disciplinary project manifesting in performance, audio, moving image and prose. Taking place across various landscapes and locations, the project builds upon a postcolonial perspective informed by technology, agency and the body, and narratives of migration. In the short film, a Relic Traveller is featured apparating sites across a seemingly desolate United Kingdom. Uncovering fragments of audible data presenting clue-like testimonies to a forgotten Empire, the Relic Traveller soon finds themselves in an atmosphere that simultaneously delivers poetic moments of the sublime met with increasingly harrowing claustrophobia and tales of trauma. Thus resulting in a familiar feeling of otherness, we are invited on a journey that embodies hysteria.
Insights
Plot Summary
A daughter, granddaughter, and grandmother are haunted by a manifestation of the family's decaying elder care home. As the film progresses, the lines between the past and present blur, revealing the haunting nature of dementia and its devastating impact on family relationships.
Critical Reception
Relic received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for its atmospheric tension, emotional depth, and unique exploration of dementia through a horror lens. Audiences also responded well to its slow-burn suspense and poignant themes.
What Reviewers Say
Praised for its chilling atmosphere and effective jump scares.
Lauded for its profound and moving exploration of dementia.
Acknowledged for its strong performances, particularly from the lead actresses.
Google audience: Viewers found the film to be a deeply unsettling and emotionally resonant horror movie that effectively uses supernatural elements to represent the experience of dementia. Many appreciated its mature handling of sensitive themes and its ability to be both scary and heartbreaking.
Awards & Accolades
Nominated for several awards, including the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and Best Film at the Sitges Film Festival.
Fun Fact
Director Natalie Erika James was inspired to make the film by her own grandmother's battle with dementia, aiming to externalize the internal experience of the disease.
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