Despite being one of the few modern horror works with makers who care about lighting, shot composition, and camerawork, Natalie Erika James’ Relic features so much empty buildup in its first half that it’s difficult to ignore the question of whether the story missed its calling as a short film.

In turn, a far briefer set-up involving the Australian mother-daughter team of Kay (Emily Mortimer) and Sam (Bella Heathcote, The Neon Demon) going to their family’s country home to investigate the disappearance of elderly matriarch Edna (Robyn Nevin, The Matrix Revolutions) seems sufficient, as does less narrative wheel-spinning once Edna inexplicably returns, sporting a mysterious dark mark on her chest and refusing to answer her descendants’ questions regarding her whereabouts.

The same brevity would likely also better serve the scattered appearances of a black shadowy figure — which oddly fail to make much a lasting impact on Kay — and Edna’s occasional episodes of madness and cruelty, though Kay’s visions of a decaying cabin are among the most striking images of the cinematic year thus far.

There’s also little to fault about Relic’s extended climax, which makes good on its overlong foreshadowing and repetitive character development with a marvelously sustained stretch of terror that gives way to a strangely touching conclusion and a downright brilliant final shot.

It’s not quite enough to justify its 85-minute runtime, but reimagined as work half that long, the mind tingles at the pared-down potential.

Grade: B-minus. Rated R. Available to rent via Amazon Video, Apple, and other streaming services

(Photo: IFC Films)