We are What We are Review

Starring: Bill Sage, Julia Garner and Ambyr Childers

Director: Jim Mickle

Released: September 27^th 2013

Based on the Mexican film by the same name

I love going to the video store to rent a movie, I think its slowly becoming a forgotten part of cinematic culture. There is nothing quite like browsing through the seemingly endless shelves of films, you never quite know what you'll find, often you could find an old gem or a film you forgot you've wanted to watch entirely. Perhaps my love for going to rent a movie is rooted in nostalgia, I remember going every Thursday as a child to rent a few movies for the weekend and it was one of those childhood traditions that have stayed with me to this very day. Maybe it is just me but I find a sense of adventure while looking for a movie to watch for the night, its something that internet browsers and websites just don't have.

Last night I made one of those trips to the store, almost completely on a whim. My girlfriend and I decided it would be a good idea to rent a movie for the night. We had seen almost everything there was to rent and were about to admit defeat on our plan for the night when I saw a movie huddled in the corner.  Perhaps it was the fairly menacing cover art that captured my attention, I can't say for sure but I found myself walking towards a movie called We are What We are. I looked at the back of the case and realized that I had saw a trailer for this film in another movie I rented a few months back-what that movie originally was I have no idea-and remembered that both my girlfriend and I wanted to watch it, so we rented it. 

We are What We are is a remake of a Mexican film of the same name and focuses on the Parkers. The Parkers are a very secluded and seemingly innocent family, however after the death of the mother and a terrible hurricane the Parkers terrible cannibalistic secrets are revealed. The plot to the movie is a fairly simple one and probably sounds like something you have more than likely watched before, but trust me when I say that We are What We are is a pretty fun/dark ride. I cant even list the number of Horror movies I’ve seen over the past ten years that have focused on ghosts or demons. We are What We are is very refreshing in this aspect, instead on focusing on some phantasmal horror lurking under the bed we have a movie showcasing real bogymen that exist out in the real world. 

Each of the performances from the main three actors are pretty good but quickly fade away (more on that later), Bill Sage who plays the Father of the Parker clan, has been an actor thats been under most audience members radars, but you have more than likely have seen him before. Mainly focusing on independent movies Bill Sage has been in movies like American Psycho and Precious he's even been on the small screen in the second season for Boardwalk Empire he does a very creepy job at playing the very sick and very religious father of the family. Julia Garner and Ambyr Childers play the two daughters of the family. Both are newcomers to the field and I haven't seen most of their work but they both do a very excellent job with what they're given.  The movie tries its best to make you feel sympathy for the two sisters who seem to be forced into the family's unconventional “traditions” while most of the movie they seem to be in some dark boring haze their acting chops only really are allowed to come out in the films climax.

We live in a world where cannibalistic murder families are pretty normal in Horror. What sets the Parkers off from families like the Fireflies or Leatherfaces deranged brood is that the Parkers have a very rich history. The family has been murdering and cannibalizing since the late 1700s, the Parkers follow a diary left by one of their ancestors like a dark bible and throughout the movie we are given glimpses to the families origins. This is my favorite part of the entire movie; this movie could have easily just told audiences that the Parkers just eat people just because. Instead we are given glimpses into a very real and rich history for the family which is something that has never really been delved into with other murder families. It helped created the world of the movie and make it all the more believable.  Of course the movie does not focus on the diary which is unfortunate because I found the tale weaved within those old pages to be far more interesting then the main narrative of the movie. The cinematography and score for this film is pretty fantastic, both give the movie a dark dreamlike quality. Even though the film is fairly dark with grey hues even in scenes that take place in the daytime, We are What We are is a gorgeous film to watch.

The scares are very carefully placed throughout the movie. Instead of being a typical slasher flick this movie is very careful at what it shows its audience. When there is blood and guts it is very visceral and shocking, but scenes like this are very few, the rest of the movie is constantly building up and creating a very tense sense of dread and the scares are very subtle. The movie is smarter than most horror movies being thrown out of Hollywood these days which is something that Director Jim Mickle should be commended for; another of my favorite parts of the movie is the addition of a virus called Kuru. I don’t want to spoil how the disease plays into the plot, but its one of those tiny little additions that makes the world of We are What We are seem all the more real and believable. 

Now I didn't hate this movie so there isn't really anything I typically hated, instead theres just things in the movie I have mixed feelings about- of course this is only my personal opinion you should check the movie out regardless-. I think the movie left itself in a trap when showing us the flashbacks of the Parker family's ancestors. I became more interested and invested into the history of the family and as the movie progressed I found this to be stronger than the main narrative, which leads into another part of the movie that has left me with mixed feelings. I found that as the movie progressed it began to cannibalize itself, the movie which started out very strong and intelligent quickly devolved. Characters that started out interesting quickly became husks of what they could have been. I found that by the second act the main characters simply became a device to move the plot forward. Your characters should move the plot not the other way around. As the movie reached its third act it quickly changed into your typical horror/slasher film. Thankfully this only lasts on for about ten minutes and the movie slowly begins to gain its momentum back. Unfortunately by the time this happens the film only had about five minutes left before ending and what an ending this movie have!  

I didn't hate the film, in fact I fairly liked it its just that there were a few things that gave me mixed feelings. This is just my personal opinion don't let these few things detract from your enjoyment of the movie because there is something to love in this movie. In an age where we can expect three Paranormal Activity movies a year movies like this are what theaters should be showing. We are What We are didn't have a full release, it only had a short limited run and I don't even think it came out in theaters over where I'm from. This is a shame since the horror genre has become a joke from what it used to be thirty years ago. I am pretty happy that I rented this movie because I didn't quite know what to expect, so I give We are what We are an

6.5/10

We are What We are is a fairly entertaining ride. Its a great change of pace to have a horror movie delve into the true boogymen that live in our world other than some phantom and demons. However I think the movie is only really worth a watch once, there are some pretty interesting ideas in place and the segments on the origins of the family turn the cannibalistic clan into something more than your traditional horror fare. However the members themselves are never really explored and come off as two dimensional husks as the film progresses. If you're expecting scares at every turn than this is not the movie for you but it is a very fun ride into darkness and I am pretty pleased that I rented it, but I wont be running out to buy it anytime soon. 

I also hear that there is a sequel and a prequel in the works, I am not too sure on the sequel and how that would turn out but I am very interested in seeing a prequel (if it focuses on the family mentioned in the journal). At the same time I kind of want this film to rest and be its own thing. I don't think we need another horror franchise running around, it is possible to have a standalone horror movie, but studios only care about the big $$$$. Check out We are What We are you might be surprised its a pretty solid movie.