WE ARE WHAT WE EAT
We Are What We Are directed by Jim Mickle (Stakeland) starring Bill Sage was released in 2013 and is a remake of a 2010 Mexican horror film.
The movie tells the story of a family of five who live in a remote area of a small town and practice cannibalism. In the first ten minutes of the film, we witness a woman die. The woman turns out to be a wife and mother to three children. Upon learning of his wife’s passing, her husband Frank basically falls apart emotionally and physically. He commands his oldest daughter to take over her mother’s duties which include preparing human flesh for their meals. As the story progresses you learn more about this family and their motives for consuming human flesh.
This film was another recommendation from a friend and I was quite impressed. I imagine based on subject matter and synopsis alone most people will assume that they will be watching something graphic. We Are What We Are is not overly gory or action packed. It is not silly or funny. There is nothing light about it even the cinematography while beautiful, presents a dark and dreary back drop. What it is, is a slow burn that makes you think and feel. It sickens and disgusts but not in a gratuitous way.
The story is believable. We have all read stories about a town or towns that have had many unsolved disappearances over several decades. Is it so far fetched to think that those missing people could not only be murdered but also the victims of cannibals? Not to me. Cannibals didn’t just exist in far away lands years and years ago. I can give multiple examples of modern day cannibals who killed to possess and consume their victim. Jeffery Dahmer was one of them. He was a little less sanitary about it than this family and his motives may not have been exactly the same, but it was still cannibalism. Not only is it a crime to kill and eat another human being, it is also socially unacceptable and a sure way to contract all sorts of diseases no one wants.
This film disgusted and angered me. The idea that there are people in this world who think they are entitled to do whatever they please to other people just because they want to fufill their own desires or perceived needs fills me with rage.
There are several reasons why this film works as serious, thought provoking horror but number one is the acting. Bill Sage absolutely blew me away as Frank, the patriarch of this family of cannibals. He sickened and enraged me. I wanted to reach through my TV screen and throttle him.
We Are What We Are is a true gem and while it is firmly part of the horror genre it is intelligent horror. Rent it. Buy it. Whatever you do watch it. For you sickos out there the nastiest and most horrific death occurs during sex. (ED Note: Says the girl who recently wrote a column about the best horror deaths to take place during sex)
We Are What We Are is currently available to stream on Netflix.
LITTLE MISS HORROR NERD’S RATING: 5 out of 5
