Relic

Directed By Natalie Erika James

A daughter, mother and grandmother are haunted by a manifestation of dementia that consumes their family's home.

  • ABOUT
  • BIO
A deeply unsettling psychological horror, RELIC is the unforgettable debut feature from writer and director Natalie Erika James who brings a fresh and profoundly human twist to the genre. When elderly mother Edna (Robyn Nevin), inexplicably vanishes, her daughter Kay (Emily Mortimer) and granddaughter Sam (Bella Heathcote) rush to their family's decaying country home, finding clues of her increasing dementia scattered around the house in her absence. After Edna returns just as mysteriously as she disappeared, Kay's concern that her mother seems unwilling or unable to say where she's been clashes with Sam's unabashed enthusiasm to have her grandma back. As Edna's behaviour turns increasingly volatile, both begin to sense that an insidious presence in the house might be taking control of her.
Natalie Erika James is a Japanese-Australian writer, director, and producer based in Melbourne, Australia. Her debut feature, RELIC, is a psychological horror starring Emily Mortimer, Bella Heathcote and Robyn Nevin, produced by Carver Films, Jake Gyllenhaal’s Nine Stories and executive produced by the Russo Brothers’ Agbo Films. RELIC premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was programmed in SXSW, BFI London Film Festival and Sitges Film Festival, where it was awarded a Special Mention for Direction. The film has recently received a nomination for Best Film at the 2020 IFP Gotham Awards, as well as numerous nominations for Best Film, Best Direction, and Best Screenplay at the 2020 Australian Academy of Cinema Television Arts Awards, the Australian Director’s Guild Awards and the Australian Writer’s Guild Awards.