Movie review: We Are What We Are - butchered secrets

Sometimes knowing who you are may eat you up on the inside.

You know things are askew with the Parkers when hours after their mother’s death, patriarch Frank Parker (Bill Sage) tells younger daughter Rose (Ambyr Childers) that tradition will be followed with elder daughter Ivy (Julie Garner) stepping into her mother’s shoes. Jim Mickle’s American remake of the original Mexican film We Are What We Are is one of the most lyrical and beautiful horror films of recent times.

After Emma Parker’s (Kassie DePaiva) death, local doctor, Doc Barrow (Michael Parks), begins finding what look like human bones in the local stream. He makes the connection that other than his own daughter, close to 30 people had disappeared in the last twenty years in the area. His investigation keeps bringing him closer to the Parker clan.



Frank, obsessed with tradition and religion, demands that his reluctant daughters obey his rules. We don’t know what those are but we are pretty sure they are horrific. Rose makes her defiance clear in a muted fashion. Iris, however, placates her younger sister, telling her that she will follow her father’s wishes for the time being.

The real pleasure of We Are What We Are is that even though there is no outright, in-your-face horror for most of the film, Mickle keeps ratcheting the tension. In this, he is aided by his excellent crew of actors. Sage, Childers and Garner are pitch perfect and carry the burden and unease of their family dynamic throughout the film.

Mickle’s film sets a gloomy tone from the very first scene as we see Emma Parker totter to her death in a ditch when a flood hits the town. And this gloom is maintained by his excellent use of sound and lighting. By not giving the audience any gore for most of the film and instead subverting our expectations, We Are What We Are cleverly magnifies the horror that lies buried in the Parkers’ shed. You wait for the gory outbursts and each time you think you are close, Mickle pulls back and takes yet another detour. For the most part this is an effective strategy.



But when the money shot is delivered, and it is served up in the last ten minutes, it is magnificent. Tipping his hat to horror and gore fests of the past with a nod to our present day preoccupation of inversing the role of the beleaguered blonde, Mickle delivers a knockout ending that is not for the squeamish. Sitting down for a family dinner might never feel safe again.

Every family has something to hide

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre



Considered one of the greatest and most controversial horror films, this 1974 film follows a bunch of friends who fall prey to a family of cannibals while on their way to visit an old farmhouse. At the time of release, the film was banned in several countries and played in a limited number of theatres due to its violent content but went on to become a raging success later.

Dogtooth



A 2009 Greek film, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, is about a couple who keep their children confined to their isolated property and ignorant of the outside world. A tale of terror, fear and family secrets, the film was also nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83^rd Academy Awards.

Parents



A 1989 American black comedy horror film set in the 1950s, tells the story of Michael Laemle, a young boy who suspects his suburban parents of chopping up the wrong kind of meat. Despite failing at the box office, the film has a strong following over home video.

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, November 10^th, 2013.