Good evening from Denver! Two nights ago I was the opening of the 4th Annual Mile High Horror Film Festival in Denver, Colorado. Side note: a big thank you to The Alamo Drafthouse for hosting this amazing event. The first film on deck: We Are What We Are directed by the brilliant Jim Mickle. The movie is based off of the Spanish film Somos lo que hay. I would hate to say that this is a remake because, technically (in my opinion), it isn’t. It falls under the idea of reinventing. I cannot say too much about this movie because it’s a methodical story that gets under one’s skin (almost literally). But, let me set this up the best way I can.
The Parkers are different. The father (Bill Sage) is one of few words, the women all have eyes that look like an iced sea, and Mr. and Mrs. Parker’s son seems to have a nonchalant attitude (he is, after all, only about 6 years old). Within the first 15 minutes of the movie, we see that Mrs. Parker is ill and unfortunately passes. Now, the oldest daughter Iris (Ambyr Childers) must take care of the family. Which means feeding the family the “lamb” (human) they round up. Once the responsibilities fall on Iris, she, as well as her younger sister Rose (the AMAZING Julia Garner), understand what kind of sadistic life they have been living.
I have seen the original and was a complete skeptic to this story being remade. The original by Jorge Michel Grau was intense. It dealt with two masculine boys in a competition with each other in the city, trying to prove who could provide for the family the best. In Mr. Mickle’s version, it’s two daughters who are trying to deal with (and share) a burden on the family. Quite frankly, I like Mickle’s version best. Although the movie is slow (quite slow), I sat in my seat feeling like I was opening up a book and reading a story I have had yet to read and with each scene I felt like I was turning a page, waiting earnestly for the next reveal. Once the ending showed itself (and, trust me, it showed itself), I was ready for the story to go on, but then it just ends right when you want the story to go on. Call it a “To Be Continued”.
Thankfully, I was able to meet the wonderful Mr. Mickle and he revealed that there not only was a prequel in the works, but also a sequel to follow (he stated he would not be directing either). I’m not sure how I feel about him not directing the next set of stories, but I can say that, even without the prequel or sequel in store for us in the future, this film will be one to remember for quite sometime.
Rating: Slow, yet methodical, I would have to say that We Are What We Are left a bad taste in my mouth, which is a good thing (7.5/10).
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