Kittycat63 I watched this the other day, on Amazon Prime, with totally 'fresh' eyes - i.e. I'd never heard of it (or the original Spanish version) before and I didn't know who most of the actors were (except for Kelly McGillis). I was torn between watching this and, ironically, another film with Kelly McGillis in (The Innkeepers), but I didn't even know initially that she was in this movie too so when I first saw her in it I found it very coincidental!Anyway, I'm very glad I watched this movie. Anyone expecting a nonstop, moronic gorefest though should look elsewhere. That's NOT what I was looking for and was looking to watch something a bit more challenging, interesting and less 'lowest common denominator'.We Are What We are is a slow burner of a movie but from the get go I found it captivating, mainly thanks to the 'moody' setting, the rainy ambiance, the dark colours, etc. It's a beautifully shot movie and the actors were all very good, and I especially liked the performance of the doctor whose daughter went missing and who gradually puts two and two together to realize what became of her. The actor who played the father was also great. There are some gory moments in the movie but few enough that even fairly squeamish people should be able to watch the movie without feeling the need to flee! Having said that, my sister - who HATES scary and horror movies - would probably refuse to watch it! As the movie progressed the beginning made more sense - i.e. why the mother died the way she did and why she did what she did after leaving the store (re the flyer!).The only thing about this movie that disappointed me was the bizarre, schizophrenic, unexplained ending. It was way too far fetched and the total turnaround of the younger daughter (not so much the older daughter who is a lot more 'knowing' and calculated) from how she was shown throughout the rest of the movie was totally illogical. It just made no sense, unless she was supposed to be even more 'addled' than the older sister. Overall I really enjoyed this movie and am glad I happened to come across it quite randomly. I can definitely recommend.P.S. Some of the reviews for We Are What We are are SOOOOO detailed they're really not fair. To pretty much give away what an entire movie is about is so wrong - people need to review movies clearly and fairly without resorting to giving everything away. Personally, I think IMDb should refuse to publish such spoiler laden reviews.

Leofwine_draca WE ARE WHAT WE ARE is another Hollywood remake of a foreign horror flick, this time the Mexican horror movie of the same name. I was pretty much ambivalent about the original film, which I thought was overrated and rather dull, but this remake is even more boring and can be filed under 'pointless'.The film is about a typical family hiding a dark secret in their midst. I won't spoil it, but said secret feels more than a little passé and is merely an excuse for a few gruesome moments here and there. Otherwise, the film is sheer tedium to watch, occasionally enlivened by a familiar supporting face (Michael Parks and Kelly McGillis particularly coming to mind).The characters are hateful, the cinematography is dull and depressing with a grey, washed-out look throughout, and the whole thing has a mundane feel to it. I get that that was the intent - to make the horrific ordinary - but I do have to wonder what the point was. Writer/director Jim Mickle previously handled the much better STAKE LAND.

NateWatchesCoolMovies Jim Mickle and Nick Damici are a writer/director team that have greatly impressed me with their first three features, all of which have been absolute winners. Their mournful post apocalyptic vampire flick Stake Land, and their pulpy murder mystery Cold In July, both of which I'll be reviewing soon, were incredible. Also incredible is their slow burning, brutal cannibal family drama We Are What We Are. Instead of an all out backwoods gore fest, we are treated with a moody, muted slow burn of a horror thriller that gets under your skin with a hot poker, and digs at our primal fears, taking sacred concepts like family and loyalty, and turning them on their head. It honestly asks what a family like this might look like in the real world, and not in the realm of endless Wrong Turn sequels. In small rural town in Midwestern America, a secluded family lives out their ages old family traditions, just below the surface of the town's awareness, and just outside the suspicion of the good people they live around. They are a kind, devoted bunch, with one exception: every once in a while they brutally kidnap, murder and eat someone from the area, ritualistically. @Bill Sage, an actor of tremendous courage who has bravely taken on some supremely dark roles in his career, is bone deep creepy as the patriarch of this clan. He presides over the, with an iron fisted loyalty to their tradition, and a cold blooded desire to keep it going, and a secret. Amber Childers and Julia Garner play his two daughters, just coming into their own, their minds maturing to a point where they start to question this twisted doctrine they were raised with. They are both phenomenal, intuitive young actresses who throw themselves headlong into these roles with committed intensity and savage grace. Their younger brother, about 5 or 6, is too young too fully comprehend the severity of their situation and seems lost. When one of the family's previous victim's remains are discovered by the town doctor (Michael Parks), suspicions arise and the plot kicks into suspense mode. The remains just happen to be that of Doc's daughter who disappeared a year back. From there the plot thickens like the clotted blood they serve as thanksgiving dinner. Parks is a very underrated actor who's just coming back into the foray these days, and he knocks it out of the park here, displaying aching hurt and dogged determination. This is above all a suspense film, and when the tension ratchets up in the third act it becomes pretty much the best film of the genre from 2013. The final act has some bloodcurdling surprises and shocking violence that will stagger you. It's never gratuitous though. It's all part of its necessary chain of events. It hardens to the days in the 70's when horror was a moody, atmospheric genre, more concerned with slowly, subtly getting into your head, rather than the majority of shock tactics and senseless bloodletting we see these days. If you miss fright flicks like that, this ones for you.

Claudio Carvalho The Parker family is fasting following and old family tradition. When the matriarch, Emma Parker (Kassie DePaiva), goes to a hardware store in the nearby small town during a rainstorm, she does not feel well, has an accident and dies. Her husband Frank Parker (Bill Sage), who is the owner of a trailer camping area, grieves her death and forces her older daughter Iris (Ambyr Childers) to assume the responsibility for keeping the family tradition, feeding them and nursing her teenage daughter Rose (Julia Garner) and her young brother Rory (Jack Gore). He also gives Emma's journal to Rose with the history of their family to learn their traditions. Meanwhile Sheriff Meeks (Nick Damici) and Deputy Anders (Wyatt Russell) are investigating cases of missing persons in the skirts of the town. Doc Barrow (Michael Parks), who lost one daughter that has disappeared, is carrying out Emma's autopsy and finds an important discovery that will connect the missing cases with the Parker family. What is the tradition of the Parker family? "We Are What We Are" is a depressing and creepy remake of a 2010 Spanish movie "Somos lo que hay". The story is developed in slow pace in a depressive atmosphere and the acting is top-notch. Unfortunately the screenplay discloses the mystery too soon but the gore conclusion is gruesome and hard to be seen. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Somos o Que Somos" ("We Are What We Are")