Fantastic Fest 2023 – The holidays certainly aren’t perfect for everyone. Heck, they can be filled with awkward moments and uncomfortable family gatherings. This is very much true of You’re Not Me, a feature that’s bizarre and unsettling holiday horror centered on a family who just may have replaced its daughter with a beggar off the street.

Written and directed by Marisa Crespo and Moisés Romera, the film stars Roser Tapias as Aitana. She, along with her partner, Gabi (Yapoena Silva), and their adopted baby, visit Aitana’s family a day or so early for the holidays. It’s evident from the get-go that the family is covering something up and don’t really want Gabi and Aitana present, at least not early. Almost immediately, Aitana learns that her family has essentially adopted a stranger named Nadia (Anna Kurikka). Not only that, but Nadia sleeps in Aitana’s old bedroom, and Aitana’s parents, Dori (Pilar Almería) and Oriol (Álvaro Báguena), gift Nadia with Aitana’s old clothes. More and more, Aitana feels like an outcast within the home. The only one who seems to still actually like her is her brother Saul (Jorge Motos). Aitana starts to wonder if she’s the black sheep because of her sexuality and the fact she refused to marry who her parents saw as an “ideal son-in-law.” This is one of the film’s most interesting threads, a bit understated but never overdone. Meanwhile, the tension is apparent from the moment Aitana steps through the door, hoping for a warm welcome, and everyone whispers and wonders what she’s doing there early. It’s apparent this is a house of secrets.

The film becomes more and more uncanny after the parents invite over several guests that Aitana doesn’t recognize. The dinner parties her family used to have, with actual immediate family, are no more, it seems. By the halfway point, Aitana starts to wonder if she, along with Gabi and the baby, are in trouble. At some points, there are serious Rosemary’s Baby vibes to this film, especially as everyone, even Gabi, doubts Aitana’s suspicions, making her feel like she’s paranoid or has had too much to drink. She knows something’s up, but the problem is that no one will believe her. Viewers, meanwhile, will wonder what exactly is going on with the family and the odd guests. Are they cannibals? Are they part of a cult? The film doesn’t reveal that until the last 10 or 15 minutes, and it’s worth the wait. While much of the film is a slow burn, focusing on Aitana’s feelings of being replaced in her family by Nadia, the last act leans into the horror and feels quite startling and surprising. While there are clues laced throughout the runtime as to what’s coming, I doubt viewers will figure it out fully.

You’re Not Me is one peculiar and memorable holiday horror film. What’s scarier than coming home for Christmas and learning that your family replaced you with some stranger? There are plenty of unsettling moments here driving towards more.

7 Out of 10