You Are Not My Mother is an atmospheric Irish gothic horror film that expertly balances tension and storyline, offering a rare gem for fans of the genre, writes RACHAEL ELIZABETH
TITLE: You Are Not My Mother
RELEASED: 13 September 2021
DIRECTOR: Kate Doland
CAST: Hazel Doupe, Carolyn Bracken, Jordanne Jones, Jade Jordan, Paul Reid, Ingrid Craigie
Review of You Are Not My Mother 2021
Finding a genuinely scary but well-put-together horror film can be quite challenging; sometimes they can go overboard with the gore, or they simply rehash the same paranormal tropes.
But a little gem I found on Netflix turned out to be one of the best gothic horror ghost stories I have seen in a very long time.
You Are Not My Mother is a 2021 Irish psychological horror that follows Char (Hazel Doupe), a withdrawn and sombre teen who lives with her Grandmother Rita (Ingrid Craigie) and her mother, Angela (Carolyn Bracken).
Set in North Dublin, the immediate setting feels cold and harsh, instantly giving you as a viewer a sense of foreboding – the moody, grey and dreary weather and sparse location already sets you up for a tense ride.
The harrowing opening scene sees a woman place a sobbing baby within a circle of twigs and leaves and then sets them alight before leaving the baby whose cries begin to get louder and louder.
In the next scene, we are introduced to Char and Angela, who are both awkward and dour.
Char is driven to school by her mother who is acting odd, then when Char has finished school and is on her way home, she spots her mother’s car abandoned on a grassy verge.
The passenger door is open and there is a bag of shopping on the seat – she is then later reported as missing to the police, but does return of her own accord. Although this is when things start to take an even more unnerving turn, begging the question, has Char’s mother returned?
The characters we have been introduced to so far are all skittish and abrasive, building on the unease as you try to figure out who is leading, or who is a part of, the ominous tale.
The house itself feels thick with dark tension; the characters interact in such a way that a great sense of foreboding is reached with minimal dialogue, guaranteed to make you feel uneasy.
Another way in which the film creates tension is the slightly off-camera angles; characters reactions may be filmed through a reflection, the camera may zoom in just that bit too much, and some of the camera angles are shot slightly off-kilter, adding to the unease creating a feeling that something isn’t quite right.
One of the scenes that I believe was the most unsettling, is the scene that starts in the bathroom. Char’s mother, Anglea, returns to the house late one evening, but something is amiss – from this more tension is forced upon us as we watch with an uncomfortable knot in our stomachs as Angela starts to act very out of character. Char awakens when she hears a strange noise emanating from the bathroom.
The scene progresses into one of the most terrifying and tension-filled moments of the film, a scene which I personally have not experienced within a horror for quite some time.
The delivery by the mother is astounding, further made even more terrifying by the daughter’s reaction and the simplicity of the scene makes it the most terrifying – but this is a theme throughout the film.
Not every scene is filled with props, CGI or intense gore in order to get a ‘shock’ reaction from the audience or to make their stomachs churn, each scene seems carefully choreographed to produce to most unease, the most unsettling atmosphere – as those moments are what really scares us.
Towards the end of the film, the frightening reality is revealed to the viewer, which does incorporate more theatrics, but just enough to propel the story and keep it within the scary bracket without going overboard.
I don’t want to say what the ending is, as I do genuinely believe everyone should watch this film – especially if you are a horror or scary film lover, who prefers storyline and atmosphere over relentless stunts and props.
You Are Not My Mother should definitely be watched this Halloween.
My spooky rating: 4/5 Ghouls
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