Sadly Over-hyped

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

"We need to stick together now."There is no doubt in my mind that Jim Mickle is a very talented director. His film, Cold in July, was one of the pleasant surprises from last year, so I decided to give his earlier film, We Are What We Are, a watch. It was well received by critics and I understand why because it is well shot and Mickle knows how to build the right atmosphere, but this horror film was a bit too gory for my personal taste. I don't get any pleasure from watching films like this with shocking and graphic visuals without serving any other purpose. We Are What We Are isn't a horror film that aims to scare its audience, it's true purpose is to shock them through a carefully constructed build up. The film is a bit slow paced but it doesn't take too long to introduce us to the premise. What it amazingly does well is keep up the tension once the premise is revealed, which I thought would be the highlight of the film. The story still delivers twists along the way, but it simply didn't work for me because certain scenes were just too difficult to digest. This horror drama is actually a remake of a 2010 Mexican film directed by Jorge Michel Grau, but most critics agree that this is the superior version thanks to Mickle's craft and solid casting. The story introduces us to Emma Parker (Kassie DePaiva) as she is heading towards a grocery store. She is apparently very ill and collapses after exiting the store. She falls into a pit that is flooded from the pouring rain and drowns. When the officers arrive to her secluded home to inform her family we meet her husband, Frank (Bill Sage), their two daughters, Iris (Amber Childres) and Rose (Julia Garner), and their young son Rory (Jack Gore). It is evident from the get go that the Parker's are hiding a secret. The daughters are very fearful of their father and seem to be very submissive. Frank is a religious man and he has his family fasting for the day as they prepare for one of their strict rituals. The death of his wife has shifted the responsibilities for everyone in the family, and despite the pain of losing his wife, Frank is determined to go on with their custom. However the unrelenting rain has uncovered a secret near the Parker's property that Deputy Anders (Wyatt Russell) has begun investigating. Doc Barrow (Michael Parks) has also found some disturbing evidence while examining Emma's body, but his theory is a bit far fetched. It all leads to a shocking discovery. I don't want to give away what the shocking revelation is although it has been detailed in some summary plots. I actually went into the movie knowing what it was, but it isn't really much of a surprise either considering that it is revealed early on in the movie. What Mickle manages to do well is keep building the drama and the suspense despite it all. The performances here also elevate the material. Bill Sage is a menacing presence and the control he has over his family is very believable. The two daughters are also brilliantly portrayed by Childres and Garner. The film has its strong moments, but as I said before there are too many scenes that disturbed me and didn't allow me to enjoy the film at all. We Are What We Are is one of those films that delivers exactly what you are expecting so if you are a fan of gore you probably will be satisfied, but if you have a weak stomach like I do then this isn't the film for you. http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

Story: We Are What We Are starts by letting us meet Emma Parker (DePaiva) as she goes about her day only for her to have some kind of illness and dying. Moving back to her house we meet her child Rose (Garner), Iris (Childers) and Rory (Gore) who have gone into their family traditional fasting. With the father Frank (Sage) grieving it is up to the girls to identify their mother. To keep up with their mysterious traditions Iris now has to step up as the eldest woman in the household. While the family continues to grieve the loss, the young daughters plan to take over the tradition. The girls learn about the history of the family and how they survived for years with the tradition. While they are preparing things Doc Barrow (Parks) finds a bone and starts looking into missing persons including his daughter. While we know what is going on it isn't until the preparation for the meal that we see what the Parker family is really doing. We Are What We Are does what many horror film fail to do that is create a genuine shock moment, and this builds it up to levels I haven't seen in recent horror films. We get the basic idea of hiding the idea without giving too much away before slowly revealing small parts of the film before we get the big reveal. It is hard to even find a negative side to this story telling it is told with near perfection. It pulls you in to each scene leaving you wondering what will happen next waiting for something big to happen and when it finally does it is worth the wait. This is simple, it is how you make a horror that will shock. (9/10)Actor ReviewAmbyr Childers: Iris Parker eldest daughter who has to take over from her mother after her death in prepare for the family traditions. She wants to keep her younger siblings but has to go through one last ritual before trying to escape. Ambyr does a great job in the lead role and could easily be a name in horror for years to come. (9/10)Bill Sage: Frank Parker father of the household who is showing the effects of years of cannibalism but still forcing his young family to continue to follow the traditions after his wife dies on the first day of them. Bill does a great job in the leading role where he shows a full range of emotions. (9/10)Michael Parks: Doc Barrow local doctor who upon finding a bone starts to think he could uncover the truth about what happened to his daughter who has been missing for a while now. Michael gives a good performance and continues to show that he is always good to go to in horror. (9/10)Julia Garner: Rose Parker younger of the two sisters who has to help her sister in the work but is clearly too young to be involved in that sort of thing. Julia gives a great performance and starts the shock moment. (9/10)Support Cast: We Are What We Are has a small cast but the remaining members of the cast all offer to the main story be it the officer trying to ask simple questions with a romantic angle with Iris or neighbour who has helped the family they all work well to help the main story.Director Review: Jim Mickle – Jim does a great job directing a horror that is a genuine shock value contender. (9/10)Drama: We Are What We Are uses the drama side of the story to build up everything the characters are going through. (9/10) Horror: We Are What We Are hides the horror until little parts get revealed before we see the real horror of what they are doing. (9/10) Thriller: We Are What We Are builds up to shock everyone with the final moment. (9/10) Settings: We Are What We Are uses settings to make everything seem like it could be your very own neighbour instead of making anything a creepy looking location. (9/10) Suggestion: We Are What We Are is a must watch for all the horror fans out there, it actually will shock you. (Horror Fans Watch) Best Part of We Are What We Are: Not giving too much away too fast. Worst Part of We Are What We Are: Hard to find one. Oh My God Moment: The final moment will shock you.Believability: It creates the story to make it look like it could be very real. (9/10) Chances of Tears: No (0/10) Chances of Sequel: Could have one Post Credits Scene: NoAwards: 7 Awards including Best Horror Film in Toronto After Dark Film Festival. Oscar Chances: No Runtime: 1 Hour 45 Minutes Tagline: Blood is the strongest bond.Overall: Genuinely Shocking HorrorMore reviews on MoviesReview101.com

The Parker family seems nice enough; a little stand offish and certainly hard to get to know. What they do in their own home is their own business. Following a family tragedy, Mrs. Parker drowning during a torrential rainstorm, the two teenage sisters are forced by their domineering father to carry on in her memory. This horror/drama is dark as it is disturbing. Frank Parker(Bill Sage)takes advantage of lost or listless people by leading them to their maker; he hacks, slices and chops them and puts them in home storage. Its the daughter's, Iris(Ambyr Childers)and Rose(Julia Garner), chore to fix soup out what their dad brings home. Pieces of teeth and bones floating in flood waters bring the authorities to discovering the Parker's secret of cannibalistic traditions. A very moody movie that comes to a very gory climax.Rated R for the bloody images, disturbing and implied violence with some sexuality and nudity. The cast also features: Kelly McGillis, Michael Parks, Wyatt Russell, Nick Damici and Jack Gore.

The movie has a very depressing atmosphere. It's dark, gloomy, and rainy for the most part. The performances are slow, but excellent nonetheless. Rarely do I come across a horror movie with such strong performances. It's probably because it's closer to drama than to the horror genre. There is no real mystery in the movie, because if you have seen 2 horror movies in your life, you can figure it all out 20 minutes into the movie. I kept asking myself; why I kept watching it, despite the deliberate slow pace and the predictability of the story, and I figured it was because the movie relied on good acting, an extreme dramatic experience, excellent camera angles, and an atmosphere perfectly in line with the depressing story of the movie. The ending was rather abrupt and not as dramatic as it could have been. They could have injected more thrills into the movie, especially towards the end, than just Christ-like calmness (in a deranged way of course); although the movie left me with a tinge of unpleasant feeling, which is a quality that not many horror movies manage to achieve these days; and if this was the intended effect, I must say it was effective. In my opinion, the movie is worth watching once or twice, only if you don't mind the slow pace, which I'm sure some of the audience would find boring and might fall asleep before they are frightened, a feeling pretty much absent from the movie that is supposed to function as a horror movie rather than a sleeping pill for the majority.