10 Slow Burn Horror Movies With An Underwhelming Pay Off

10. You Are Not My Mother (2021)

When Angela (Carolyn Bracken) suddenly reappears after being missing for a few days she acts like a completely different person on her return. Instead of being bedridden with depression, she’s cheery and active. Her behaviour is so different that her teenage daughter Char (Hazel Doupe) suspects that this isn’t her mother.

After witnessing some freakish behaviour from Angela, we learn that Char was right all along. This Angela is a changeling, and the only way to get her real mother back is to expose the imposter to fire. It’s during the final confrontation between Char and the creature where the teenager sets it alight.

Whether Angela is taken by a monster or changed by mental illness, You Are Not My Mother is about a girl who just wants her mother back. It’s disappointing, then, that the finale fails to fully address this.

Not only does Char not get to express herself emotionally in this far-too-brief climax, but the script likewise forgets all about its mental health metaphor.

After the monster is bested the real Angela returns with her depression alleviated. This suggests that mental illness can easily be overcome, consequently trivialising the pair's emotional arc.