You Are Not Me (Tú no eres yo)
Written and Directed by Marisa Crespo and Moisés Romera
Starring Roser Tapias, Yapoena Silva, Anna Kurikka, and Pilar Almeria
Unrated
Runtime 1 hour and 39 minutes
In theaters and on digital December 6

by Samantha McLaren, Staff Writer

For all the tinsel and talk of good cheer, the holidays are often fraught with tension–doubly so if you’re a queer person whose family has never quite accepted you for who you are. Marisa Crespo and Moisés Romera’s horror-thriller You Are Not Me understands this intimately, leveraging the anxiety and discomfort of its basic premise to mask a darker heart.

The film opens with Aitana (Roser Tapias) arriving at her family home in the Spanish countryside. After three years away, Aitana is excited to surprise her parents for Christmas and introduce them to partner Gabi (Yapoena Silva) and their adopted child. But the reception they receive is cold, borderline hostile, with her mother Dori (Pilar Almería) and father Justo (Alfred Picó) suggesting the couple go to a hotel instead. That’s when Aitana discovers her parents have taken in a homeless refugee, Nadia (Anna Kurikka), who they dote over and refer to as their daughter.

It’s a scenario that, while unusual in its details, may feel uncomfortably familiar to many queer people. Aitana’s hurt over feeling like her parents have found a replacement daughter is palpable, especially when she learns they’ve gifted Nadia the dress that was earmarked for Aitana’s wedding had she not run out on the life they planned for her. Dori’s seeming disinterest in holding her grandson and comments about Gabi being Aitana’s “friend” also point to a prejudice that is hardly surprising in a conservative household. Aitana and Gabi wrestle over the decision to stay or go, ultimately shacking up in the disused turret room of the house while Nadia sleeps in Aitana’s bed downstairs.

From there, Crespo and Romera gradually ramp up the tension in the home. It starts with a few scattered remarks, a hint that something more sinister is going on. Dori hates immigrants, yet took in Nadia off the street without a second thought. The family swears that Nadia has been an angel looking after Aitana’s brother Saúl (Jorge Motos), whose disability worsened significantly during her absence, but Aitana suspects Nadia may be in it for his meds.

By the halfway point, any genre-savvy viewer will have figured out what’s really going on here. Crespo and Romera’s script takes its time getting to the reveal, but even as the true horror starts to come into focus, the family drama surrounding it remains compelling. You Are Not Me’s strongest asset is its characters, whose actions are always believable, even when their true motivations aren’t yet clear. Where many similar films leave viewers screaming at the screen for characters to get out, we understand why Aitana and Gabi stay, just as we understand why Saúl seems like the only person in the house who is happy to see Aitana. In some families, the holidays are just like that, and grinning and bearing it is the only way through.

With its intriguing premise, well-wrought characters, and smartly handled LGBTQ+ themes, You Are Not Me is a satisfying slow-burn addition to the holiday horror tradition. Its horror tropes are familiar, but what it does with them is well worth the watch.