Comments on: Confusing Ending of the Movie Relic Explained

By: Sep

Sep — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 06:10:04 +0000

Hi. I watched “relic” the other day. I really enjoyed reading your views on this movie especially the alzheimer part. There was one thing though that you didn’t talk about. The story about the cabin in the woods. If I’m not mistaken, they talked about a man ( a relative) who lived there and was left to die. I thought it was actually him that Kay saw in her dream. I thought at the last moments of the movie she realized she was doing the same thing to her mom so she came back. I would love to know your view on this and whether you think I got it all wrong.

By: Taylor Holmes

Taylor Holmes — Sun, 26 Jul 2020 23:38:01 +0000

In reply to deKev.

Oh wow, Amulet. Got it. Putting it on my list now.

As for the attic – it only doesn’t work IF you already know this is a dementia/familia story… and aren’t thinking that it’s some sort of supernatural something or other. Personally, I had no idea what I had on my hands. So I didn’t mind the attic stuff. And it actually helped me clarify what was actually going on. But yeah, I get you. Totally. As always deKev – we are 100% on the same wavelength.

By: deKev

deKev — Sun, 26 Jul 2020 12:58:48 +0000

Not sure if I can really say I ‘enjoyed’ watching this movie, but maybe ‘relieved’ is more apt for me. That’s because before going in, I already learnt from some previews that this movie is about a family dealing with dementia, possibly with some supernatural elements thrown in. So I was kinda dreading the movie would run the risk of demonizing Alzheimer’s sufferers, all in the name of setting up a few scares. So near the end when Kay bludgeoned her mother to a pulp, albeit in defence of her own daughter, Sam, I thought my worst fears were fully realized. Well, colour me relieved when things turned out entirely differently in the end, so yeah, phew, haha.

Don’t know about you, but I feel that some movies, like this one, are first and foremost allegorical movies created to address certain real life issues, so the plot and pacing of such movies, IMHO, do not feel as organic as those of non-allegorical movies that play it straight. Take Relic for example, the scene with Sam lost in the maze between the walls just drags on and on, which does not add much to the story and feels more like time-filler. This overlong maze scene would have worked wonders if this were a supernatural tale, because it would then explain Edna was actually lost in her own house, not out in the woods somewhere. As it turns out, the allegory plot just kinda makes this overlong scene redundant after the first couple of minutes anyway. To me, the scene only needs to last just long enough for the audience make the connection that everyday things could be so confusing to a dementia patient, like even your own house could turn into an impossible maze!

Before signing off, I’d just like to recommend another, er, ‘intelligent’ horror movie for you to check out if you have the time:
Amulet (2020)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8332802/

Amulet sucks you in, challenges you to try to put things into focus and then smacks you with a wallop of an ending that’ll leave you needing a few moments after the credits. – collider.com

(Hint: this one has about 27 twists in the last 20 minutes alone, honest!)