Review: ‘You Are Not Me’ delivers taut storytelling and eerie Christmas scares

“We have been teachers for two decades and have seen dozens of cases where parents marked their children’s lives for the worse,” co-writers and co-directors Marisa Crespo and Moisés Romera share in their joint directors’ statement. Their words take root in their new film, You Are Not Me, and sprout from soured soil, as their tale about a dysfunctional family conceals far more than meets the eye. With great attention to the intricacies of the blood ties that bind, the queer horror/thriller makes a late-year bid for one of the year’s biggest, most satisfying surprises.

On Christmas Eve, Aitana (Roser Tapias) unexpectedly arrives at her parents’ villa in the Spanish countryside with her wife Gabi (Yapoena Silva) and infant son João (Boubcar Djitte Silla). Dori (Pilar Almeria) and Justo (Alfred Picó) are less than thrilled about her early arrival, but Aitana’s wheelchair-bound brother Saúl (Jorge Motos) couldn’t be more excited. Tensions boil over when Aitana discovers a woman named Nadia (Anna Kurika) sleeping in her bedroom, wearing her clothes, and being treated as a beloved daughter by her parents. Nadia receives more than love, as she’s bestowed with family heirlooms like a scarlet pair of earrings and Aitana’s never-used wedding dress.

As Aitana’s paranoia grows, her family looks at her with disdain. Their frustrations reach a fevered pitch and conceal something sinister, diabolical, and unholy. Even Gabi, who learns about Aitana’s three-year-old crisis, expresses her annoyance with her wife—her disbelief over what’s happening fuels friction between them. The fractured family dynamic tests their loyalty and commitment to one another. As events grow increasingly confusing, after a group of like-minded rich people show up for a lavish gathering, Aitana slowly peels back the layers of the mysterious holiday bash.

Deceptively naive, Nadia plays the part to perfection—that of a refugee who showed up on Dori and Justo’s front steps a few short months ago. In exchange for working around the estate and assisting with Saúl’s care, the family offered her room and board. They showered her with adoration, soon bringing her into their ranks. Aitana doesn’t understand, and how could she? Her strained relationship with her parents causes further rifts when she realizes they have replaced her, frequently calling Nadia their “daughter” right in front of her.

You Are Not Me finds Crespo and Romera testing the audience’s patience. Even before Aitana exposes the family’s dark secrets, the viewer might predict the blood-soaked finale. Yet that doesn’t detract from the thrill of the journey. The co-directors delicately build tension through tenuous character dynamics, eerie thematic threads, and the illusion that the story completely lies inside Aitana’s mind. The character work and unwavering lead performance by Tapias keep the story glued together. Tapias commands the screen, offering up the required emotional heft to transmit her character’s cracked mental state and eventual decay.

As the audience vaults into the third act, they’ll likely question reality and seek to understand the truth buried six feet deep. Beneath the slick exterior lives a throbbing, mangled heart around the human condition and the lengths we’ll go to harness healing powers in our lives. You Are Not Me doesn’t aim to reinvent anything, but it accomplishes in offering a sturdy addition to the Christmas horror genre. It’s a taut and thrilling escape into the darkest recess of humanity.

You Are Not Me hits VOD today.

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