20 Scariest Horror Movies Of The 2020s (So Far)
15. Relic
Much as horror-as-metaphor has been so thoroughly overdone in the past decade-or-so, Natalie Erika James' feature debut Relic is an uncommonly bruising allegory for the destructive power of dementia.
As Edna's (Robyn Nevin) condition worsens over the course of the film, the situation becomes ever-more fraught for her daughter Kay (Emily Mortimer) and granddaughter Sam (Bella Heathcote), Edna's mental decay reflected by unexplained phenomena in her home.
It'd be so easy for a film with this setup to rely on cheap, easy jump scares, but James instead crafts an eerie waking nightmare that feels far more relatable, emphasising the uncanny strangeness of the goings-on in the house alongside a gnarly body horror element.
And above all else, Relic is a genuinely devastatingly sad slice of dramatic horror sure to resonate with anyone who's seen a loved one succumb to dementia. After all, the disease is far more terrifying than monsters or masked killers ever could be.