Forgotten Relic

It's been a while since we've had any horror, and Ms. Spenser requested Relic (2020). Since it deals with senile dementia, I was more than hesitant. Ms. Spenser's mother and aunt, and my mother and great aunt all died with dementia, and it isn't pretty. But she's got more guts than me, so I queued it up.

A mother and daughter drive deep in the woods to their grandmother's house. No one has heard from her in a few days, and they are worried, as she has been forgetful. They get there and find the house deserted. They stay and wait and clean up a little, finding little notes the grandmother has left herself, "Take pills", etc.

Then the grandmother re-appears, barefoot and filthy. She doesn't know where she's been, maybe isn't even aware that she was gone. A visit to the doctor shows that she's fairly healthy, except for a large black bruise on her chest. It resembles some of the black stains they have noticed on the walls of her house. 

Although she's mostly fine, she also sometimes gets cruel and abusive. They find out that the well-loved but slow neighbor boy isn't allowed to visit any more, because she left him locked in a closet and forgot that he had ever come over. They don't know what to do.

The grand-daughter investigates a closet, and finds a passage at the back, covered with boxes. It leads to a room, full of mementoes, boxes and pictures. It also has a door to another room, and another, and soon she can't find her way back. She forges ahead, but the rooms get smaller and smaller, until she has to crawl. She finally gets out by smashing through a wall. By this time, enough creepy stuff has happened that this doesn't seem out of place.

The movie was made and is set in Australia, but mostly in the one house. The cast is small and the atmosphere intimate. The horror is partly psychological, with a touch of body horror (that bruise doesn't go away), plus a touch of the haunted house. It was tense as hell, but not quite as damaging as we had feared. The last little reminder note that they find from the grandmother is, "You are loved". That takes the sting out a little.