Every family has their secrets.|Mar. 04, 2022|Ireland|93 Min.|n/A
Genre: Horror;Thriller
Description: Irish filmmakers have steadily built an impressive collection of horror films, blending ghost stories, occult themes, and even monster movies. These narratives often explore psychological trauma that transforms into violence or psychopathy, drawing from Ireland’s rich cultural history of ancient paganism, Catholicism, and eerie legends of fairies, which are far from whimsical, especially the notorious leprechauns. Over the past decade, films like *Rose Plays Julie*, *Citadel*, *The Lodgers*, *A Dark Song*, *Caveat*, *The Hallow*, and the intensely gripping haunted-house movie *The Canal* have stood out, with many marking directorial debuts that promise exciting futures for their creators.
Kate Dolan’s feature debut, *You Are Not My Mother*, adds to this legacy with its moody, trauma-driven story. Hazel Doupe stars as Char, a timid teenage girl living on the outskirts of Dublin. Char is mocked by her peers for a red birthmark on her cheek, but her home life is even more unsettling. She lives with her nearly immobile grandmother (Ingrid Craigie) and her deeply depressed mother (Carolyn Bracken), who struggles to function. The household is shrouded in dust and secrets, with an undercurrent of inexplicable dread.
The film opens with a chilling prologue: a baby carriage sits abandoned on a dark road, a screaming infant inside. A woman (Craigie) approaches, takes the carriage into the woods, removes the baby, places her on the ground, and encircles her with fire—a haunting start to a story that promises to unravel deeper mysteries.
Cast director: Kate Dolan
Cast actor: Paul Reid, Hazel Doupe, Ingrid Craigie, Jordanne Jones, Carolyn Bracken, Colin Peppard, Martin O’Sullivan, Katie White, Florence Adebamo
Original name: You Are Not My Mother