You Are Not My Mother
Magnet Releasing | Release Date: March 25, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
1
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Film ThreatBobby LePireMar 31, 2022
You Are Not My Mother burrows underneath the nerves and stays there. It accomplishes this thanks to the amazing cast and strong visuals, which are ideally suited to the intense material. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesNoel MurrayMar 25, 2022
This at once deeply creepy and strangely moving movie is ultimately about a girl in distress, unsure of what to do when the change she’s been desperate for turns out to be worse than the misery she’s already learned to handle. Read full review
90
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisMar 25, 2022
Imaginative and spooky, You Are Not My Mother shows just how frightening — and stigmatizing — a parent’s mental illness can be to a child. Read full review
80
Little White LiesAnton BitelApr 12, 2022
Dolan ensures that such myth comes with a dark gothic edge, unnerving, insidious and uncannily ambiguous, as this clan’s internal problems find their expression in highly incendiary rites of Capgras cleansing. Read full review
80
VarietyGuy LodgeMar 25, 2022
Steeped in local folklore, it lets mythic and mind-based terrors exist side by side, allowing the viewer to interpret and believe what they will. This leeway comes at no cost, however, to its effective atmospherics, which sink into the bones like an unexpected twilight chill. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesTara BradyMar 4, 2022
For much of its impressive duration, Dolan’s film blurs the line between family friction, bipolar disorder and the supernatural. Read full review
79
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiMar 21, 2022
With striking scares, moody atmosphere, and impressive performances, You Are Not My Mother gradually reveals itself to be a wicked, wicked work of horror, with perhaps only a few unanswered questions holding it back from true greatness. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyMar 24, 2022
The final sequences are the only "stock" moments in this very specific family drama, and something about the last scene left me cold. But the rest is so effective and emotional, a dedicated portrait of trauma passed down through generations, it doesn't matter. Read full review
70
We Got This CoveredScott CampbellJun 6, 2022
Dolan can officially be deemed as one of horror’s most intriguing and singular new talents, thanks to a debut that’s definitely worth seeking out for horror aficionados who prefer having something to think about and chew on once the lights come up, as opposed to the hollow adrenaline rush of splashy set pieces that don’t have anything to say, and find themselves forgotten in an instant. Read full review
70
IGNMatt CabralMar 25, 2022
You Are Not My Mother effectively mixes folk horror, family drama, and slow-burn scares to deliver an unsettling story elevated by some fantastically nuanced performances. Read full review
70
Screen DailyWendy IdeMar 25, 2022
More concerned with creating a slowburn of discomfort than with deploying jumpscares, it is driven by first-rate performances from Bracken and, in particular, rising star Doupe. Read full review
68
Paste MagazineNatalia KeoganMar 24, 2022
Brimming with potential that it doesn’t exactly follow through on, You Are Not My Mother is nonetheless another aesthetically rich horror film that clearly mines an individual’s personal history. Read full review
67
The Film StageJared MobarakMar 25, 2022
While Bracken helps create the nightmarish mood, Doupe is left to suffer its wrath and humanize the ordeal by struggling to readily believe the unfathomable. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 22, 2022
The frights are muted, but the air of dread that hangs over Irish writer-director Kate Dolan’s debut feature makes it an immersive experience, one anybody with “mother issues” will quickly identify with. Read full review
60
The GuardianCath ClarkeMar 25, 2022
Intense performances by Doupe and Bracken give it a real emotional pulse. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineMark HansonMar 22, 2022
The primacy that it places on its dopamine drip of dread undercuts whatever genuine commitment it might have toward mental illness and trauma. Read full review
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