Nightmare mission all in the mind

IF YOU like your horror films to be jumpy and bloody, it may take a while to acclimatise to the slow burn of director Natalie Erika James’ disturbing debut.

Like Ari Aster (Hereditary) and fellow Aussie Jennifer Kent (The Babadook), she is influenced by the classic domestic horrors of Kubrick and Polanksi.

When recently widowed octogenarian Edna (Robyn Nevin) disappears from her rural home in Victoria, her guilt-ridden daughter Kay (Emily Mortimer) and grand-daughter Sam (Bella Heathcote) drive across Australia to investigate.

The early clues are easy to decipher. “Take pills” reads a Post-It note, “My name is Edna” reads another. Both suggest Edna is fighting dementia.

Although “Don’t follow it!” feels more in keeping with the spooky lighting and the horribly sinister score.

When Edna returns with a black bruise on her chest, Kay begins to suffer nightmares about a house in the nearby woods.

It turns out this is where her neglected, mentally ill, great-grandfather spent his final years. Could he be plotting revenge?

James keeps the guessing game going while tightening the screw. Stains appear on the walls and strange noises rumble from unknown rooms.

“The house seems bigger since your grandfather died,” Edna tells young Sam.

As the house turns into a warren of shifting corridors and impossible doorways, it feels like the place is mirroring Edna’s failing mind.

There are no torture scenes, ghostly faces or ill-advised trips to the basement. But this is the scariest movie I’ve seen in ages.