By David Dent
Christmas is a time for families, so what better thing for Aitana (Roser Tapias), her wife Gabi (Yapoena Silva) and their adopted son to do on Christmas Eve than play surprise visit to Aitana’s parents.
But when the family arrives, they don’t quite get the welcome Aitana was hoping for. Apart from her brother Saúl (Jorge Motos), who is disabled due to a degenerative muscular disease, the rest of her folks give them a rather cool reception. This might have something to do with their having taken in a Romanian refugee, Nadia (Anna Kurikka), to whom mom and dad have transferred their attention.
Relegated to a dismal tower bedroom because Nadia has been given Aitana’s room (and clothes), the new arrivals try to enjoy the pre-Christmas celebrations as best they can. But Aitana is right not to trust the family cuckoo in the nest; there’s something sinister behind Nadia’s presence.
Seasoned horror fans will have guessed where this one’s heading the moment the rather overfamiliar friends of Aitana’s parents show up, but the pleasure of YOU ARE NOT ME is the slow slide from wonky domestic drama to something way darker.
This is directors Marisa Crespo and Moisés Romera’s first foray into horror and they’ve handled it really well. While events take a familiar turn, the whole thing is well acted to the point that you can kind of overlook when characters do daft things in the name of plot progression. Silva’s role – and her overall passivity – remain decidedly undercooked, but this is a minor grumble.
YOU ARE NOT ME is a competent, well-put-together horror/drama. And it’s a Christmas movie too. Hurrah!
Bloody Flicks 