IS THAT YOU? **** UK/CUBA 2018 Dir: Rudy Riveron Sanchez 107 mins
In Is That You? a teenage girl attempts to find her father by performing a magic ritual, which backfires on her when something familiar, yet sinister, answers her summons. If that doesn’t terrify you, then you should still watch Is That You?
Is That You? is a creepy scary slow boil horror film, with a lot of the creepy content gradually building up as the film gets closer and closer to its ending.
While there are supernatural elements, the main focus is on the fragile mental state of the daughter, Lili, who desperately seeks answers for her father’s disappearance. It is a disturbing film, and it pulls you along for the extremely dysfunctional ride that the life of this family is. Gabriela Ramos plays Lili with all the subtlety and anxiety of a much older, more experienced actor, but the highlight is Osvaldo Doimeadios as Eduardo, who has easily the most unsettling performance ever. The overall cast is great, but you notice those two the most.
The slow pacing will throw you off, but if you stick with it, you’re rewarded with this weirdly unsettling feeling that gets worse and worse the further you go. It’s a dread building horror film with a lot of tension. At times it feels reminiscent of Goodnight Mommy, which was another unsettling film with a lot of creepy, slow paced moments. The soundtrack is a creepy, unnerving bit of minimalism, with a few moments of intensity just to add that extra bit of dread, and it is done extremely well. Overall, Is That You? is quite the unsettling slow boil horror film. It’s very well done, and it’s guaranteed to send shivers down your spine. I highly, highly recommend watching this.
Review by Joseph Cruz