Penny Dreadful
SFX’s high priestees of horror
Wicked witches, vulnerable old ladies and Bigfeet. But enough about SFX, what about the horror?
SOMEONE OLD, SOMETHING NEW
This year’s buzzy Sundance debut was a movie called Relic from Australian director Natalie Erika James. Likened to Hereditary and The Babadook, with an ending that really goes all out, it’s a slow-burn family story about a matriarch suffering from dementia who goes missing and when she returns might have brought something back with her… Emily Mortimer, Bella Heathcote and Robyn Nevin star as the three generations of women confronting a malevolent presence in a decrepit old house. Early reviews talk about Relic’s emotional heft as well as its deft scares. It’s due for a physical/digital release over here in October, the same month Saint Maud is now scheduled for theatrical release. If Relic lives up to the hype they could go head to head for the title of 2020’s horror of the year - both films from female first-time directors. When has that ever happened before?