We Are What We Are (2013 film)

We Are What We Are is a 2013 American horror film directed by Jim Mickle, and starring Bill Sage, Julia Garner, Ambyr Childers and Kelly McGillis. It was screened at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. It is a remake of the 2010 Mexican film of the same name. Both a sequel and prequel have been announced.
The Parkers are a reclusive religious family living in the Catskill Mountains who are about to undergo a period of ritual fasting. In the rain, Mrs Parker drives into town. While driving she is nervously praying. She reaches the general store and notices a man with a dead hog that he is bringing to be butchered. Mrs Parker seems nervous about seeing the butchering of the pig. After purchasing supplies at a local goods store, outside in the rain, Mrs. Parker notices a poster regarding a missing teenage girl. She begins bleeding from the mouth. She tries to get into her car, stumbles, hits her head on a pipe in the ground and falls into a water-logged ditch and drowns.
At home, Rory is sitting at the kitchen table saying he’s hungry and wants some “snap pop” cereal, his favorite. Iris and Rose explain to him that it’s the first day of their abstinence and they cannot have food. No flesh, no fruit, no grain. Only milk or tea. Reluctantly Rory begins to drink his milk.
Iris and Rose look out the window to notice their laundry is on the clothes line in the rain. They are disappointed that their mother would leave the clothes out in the weather. They know their mother is sick and they wish their dad would allow their mom to go to the doctor to get some help.
In his workshop Frank is listening to the weather report on the radio. He is tinkering with some old watches. As the camera pans out, there are old wristwatches hanging all over his workshop.
Frank leaves the workshop, and his neighbor Marge is watching him from her window. She sees Frank walking along the road and a police car pulls up next to him.
The children, Iris, Rose and Rory are inside the house and see the police out the window. Rory stays inside and the girls go out to see what’s happening. Rory sees the girls comforting their dad.
Consumed by grief, Frank, does not show up to identify the body but instead sends his two daughters, Rose and Iris. Doctor Barrow, who delivered Frank's young son Rory, asks where Frank is and the girls explain that he’s too upset to come. Rose asks if their mother drowned but Dr Barrow explains that an autopsy is mandated by the state and is necessary for him to determine the cause of death. The Dr only needs one person to identify the body and Iris volunteers.
Back at the house, Marge, the neighbor finds Frank sobbing outside in the rain. She tries to comfort Frank by telling him his wife is in a better place.
During the autopsy of Mrs Parker, Dr Barrow finds evidence of a prion disease.
The children sit with their dad on the porch. Iris asks about “Lambs day”. Frank says they will do it the same as they’ve always done it. “Two days, then we will carry on” he says. Rose interjects and says, “but Mom is gone”. This angers Frank and he explains that Iris is the oldest and she will take over. A tree falls in the rainstorm and the lights go out. As the girls’ gather candles, Frank comforts Rory and tells him not to be afraid.
In the next scene, Frank is driving down the road at night and notices a car has broken down on the side of the road. He pulls over on the side of the road. As he walks over to the broken down car, he pulls out a tire iron from the back of his truck.
At the house, the kids are in bed together. Rose is humming Rory to sleep. Rory whispers, “Daddy’s home”.
The next morning Frank opens a part of the kitchen floor and pulls out a book. Rose still in bed, hears the door open and see her dad walking with trash bags across the grass.
By the creek, Dr Barrow is picking flowers. His dogs alert Dr Barrow toward the creek edge. He walks over and notices a bone fragment. He picks it up and takes it with him.
Back at the police station, Mr and Mrs Kimble report their daughter missing. The policeman tells them they will put out an alert after 34 hours. The mother is deeply upset, so the policeman assures them they will look into it immediately.
Frank burns some unknown items in his workshop. His worker knocks and tells him that he’s quitting due to lack of work. Frank is upset by this and warms his hands over the fire.
Rose is making candles at the house when Rory tells her she’s hungry. She secretly grabs some cereal and puts it in Rory’s glass. She “shushes”, indicating it’s a secret.
Frank meets with his neighbor Marge and gives her a brooch. He says it’s a token for comforting him last night. “Kindness shall be met with kindness”. He tells her the funeral is that afternoon and asks her to watch his son while they went to the funeral. She accepts.
Dr Barrow leaves a message on Sheriff Bob Meeks’ phone to tell him about the bone he found by the creek edge. He then places the flowers he picked next to a picture of his daughter and whispers, “Where are you, Pumpkin?”. This indicates his daughter was abducted some time ago.
Iris and Rose go through old pictures for the funeral. They debate whether they are prepared to take over their mother's religious duties, but Iris is adamant that they perform this year's ritual.
Rory wanders into his father's shed alone. He hears chains rattling and finds a young woman held hostage. Frank finds Rory, and Rory tells his dad that he saw a monster. Frank reminds him he’s not supposed to be there but tells him not to be afraid.
Frank and his daughters leave for the funeral and Rory is left in the arms of their neighbor, who waves goodbye.
At the funeral, Frank quotes scripture as they lower the casket. Frank is distraught as they put him back in the car. The girls tell Dr Barrow their dad hasn’t eaten since the accident. Dr Barrow tells the girls to give him some soup and that their mother didn’t suffer. In the car, Frank hands Iris the book he had in the floor of his kitchen.
That night, the girls read passages from this book out loud. It’s a detailed family story of sacrificial ritual events from the 1700’s.
In the middle of the reading, there’s a knock at the door. It’s Anders, a deputy, asking about a girl that has gone missing. He knows she had to pass by their house. Iris tells him she hasn’t seen her. Anders, who has a crush on Iris, asks her to a movie sometime.
Dr Barrow meets with the sheriff and shows him the bone. They discuss the bone, his missing daughter, and the new case but the sheriff tells him he has too many cases to analyze the bone at this time.
Iris and Rose go back to reading the book. The story goes on to depict a snowy night. The family in the story are hungry and the men are out hunting for food. The mother has died and the dad is going crazy without food.
Iris wakes her dad and asks him why they are like they are. Frank says God made them that way, and they are not to question it. Iris assures him she’ll take care of things with only one more day left.
Dr Barrow meets with Anders at a diner and he shows him the bone. They discuss what kind of bone it might be. Dr Barrow asks Anders to help him figure out what’s going on with the 30 people that are missing and shows him maps to help his search. Out the diner window, they see Iris and Rose bringing boxes of old clothes and they discuss their family. Anders agrees with Dr Barrows.
At home, Rory runs a fever and the girls call Marge, the neighbor, for help. While the girls are getting some clothes and aspirin, Rory takes Marge’s hand and sucks on her thumb. He then bites it, saying he’s hungry. Frank walks in and asks what’s going on. Marge tells him Rory has a fever. Frank tells Marge that she’s a good neighbor. As she’s leaving Frank’s nose starts bleeding. As Iris tends to him, Frank’s tells her this is a sign that it’s time.
The girls dress in plastic coats and enter the shed. Meanwhile, the police are at the creek roping off an area. They find a body in the water.
The story in the book is read and reveals their family secret. In the book, a girl is tied to a tree and the dad in the story makes his daughter, Alice Parker 1782, kill her with a knife.
Meanwhile, the police drag out a body from the creek. It was a missing girl.
Iris and Rose reach a locked gate and hear chains rattling and a woman moaning. Iris pulls on the chains to get the girl out from under the table. Rose doesn’t want to help but Iris convinces her that it needs to be done. The two girls pull the girl out by pulling on the chains. Iris tells the woman, “Sorry, Mrs Stratton, you’ll be in a better place”. The woman tries to fight back and Iris hits her in the head and she bleeds out. Rose pleads with Iris to stop. Rory appears, asking if they killed the monster. Rose says yes and takes him away.
In the back yard, Marge, the neighbor, is putting dog food out. She hears a woman crying by the shed.
Inside, Iris and Rose are now performing the same ritual from the book. They butcher the woman’s body and prepare it to be cooked and eaten by the whole family.
Iris tells Rose dinner is ready and asks her to gather the others at the table. As the stew bubbles, Marge knocks at their door and asks how Rory is doing. She has brought them lasagna. She tells Iris she heard a girl crying but Iris dismisses her.
At the dinner table, Iris spoons the brown stew with the woman’s body into everyone’s bowls. Frank says grace and they begin to eat. Frank’s tells Iris it’s good and their mom would be proud. The girls are reluctant and are clearly upset. Frank assures them their family is solid.
Next day, Anders and Dr Bowers find more evidence in the creek. Dr Bowers explains to Anders that the bones seem to have been boiled.
The girls find them at the creek. Iris confronts Anders at the creek and invites him to the house. Iris insists he tell her what he’s looking for. He explains the storm stirred up some human bones. Iris is concerned when he shows her a tooth that was found. Iris told him that they are probably from the cemetery on their property. Iris takes Anders to see it.
Dr Barrow analyzes the bones he found in his lab. He describes the condition and that the bones were scraped with a knife. He begins referencing a medical book. Looking for clues, he reads about cannibalism.
During the walk over, Anders confesses his feelings to Iris. Confused and overwhelmed with guilt, Iris breaks into tears. Anders comforts her, and they have sex. Frank finds them and kills Anders while he is on top of Iris.
Frank is furious and sends Iris home. He orders them both to stay in their bedroom. He then goes out to the field and yells out scriptures while tearing apart crops near the riverbed with a machete. He finds a mandible, then proceeds to discover countless remains floating down the river rapids. Frank tries to grab as many as possible before realizing it is futile.
In his office, Barrow realizes Mrs. Parker was suffering from prion disease—a disease caused by human cannibalism.
Meanwhile, the girls form a plan for them to leave for the city while their father is asleep. While Frank recites prayers in his room, Rose takes the car keys. Frank then poisons the leftover dinner with arsenic which Rose later finds, discovering his plan for murder-suicide.
At dinner, Rose slaps away Rory's bowl and spoon before he can take a bite. Dr Barrow suddenly arrives to speak to Frank and is shocked to see his missing daughter's hair ornament in Iris' hair. Demanding to know what happened to her, Dr Barrow argues with Frank. Getting his gun, Frank tries to shoot Dr Barrow but wounds Iris when she jumps in front of Dr Barrow to protect him. Frank is ultimately able to knock out Dr Barrow. Rose and Rory flee to the house of their kindly vegetarian neighbor, Marge. Frank breaks into Marge's house and kills her, then convinces Rory and Rose to return home.
Frank again tries to get the children to eat. But when he tells Rose she looks like her deceased mother, Rose and Iris attack him. They bite into him, ripping his flesh from his body, and eat at him until he dies.
Rose notices Dr Barrow, barely conscious, has just witnessed the whole thing. She places his daughter's hair ornament on his chest. The next morning, the children leave town. In Rose's hands is the diary her father previously gave her, which details their ancestors' memories of cannibalism.
Principal photography began on May 29, 2012, and continued until the first week of July. Director Jim Mickle did not originally want to direct a remake of the original film, as he dislikes American remakes of foreign horror films. After speaking with Jorge Michel Grau, Mickle and Damici realized they could put their own spin on it. Michael Haneke, Japanese horror, and cult film Martha Marcy May Marlene served as inspirations. Mickle wanted to challenge himself by changing his style and relying more on atmosphere and methodical pacing. Mickle is a fan of Michael Parks and Kelly McGillis and sought to cast them in the film. Larry Fessenden, who has appeared in all of Mickle's films, has a cameo, as Mickle thought it inappropriate to make a horror film in the Catskills without Fessenden, who has a house there. The dark subject matter caused issues with the film's younger cast members. Mickle consulted Jack Gore's parents, and they decided that Gore should only know his own scenes.
We Are What We Are premiered at the 2013 Sundance. After a limited release in New York City and Los Angeles on September 27, 2013, it opened nationally on October 4, 2013. It was released on home video January 7, 2014.
We Are What We Are has a Metacritic rating of 71 out of 100 based on 28 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 86% of 91 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review, and the average rating was 7/10; the site's consensus states: "A compelling story cleverly told, We Are What We Are quenches horror buffs' thirst for gore while serving up serious-minded filmmaking and solid acting."
Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times called it "a dreamy commentary on the ravages of extreme religious observance." Guy Lodge of Variety called it an "exuberantly grisly" film that genre fans will enjoy. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called it "a refreshingly mature genre entry that plants queasy dread and unleashes a good dose of scares". Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post called it predictable and gross. Scott Weinberg of Fearnet called it "a trenchant and fascinating indictment of the ways in which religion can brainwash and poison even the most innocent of souls." Tim Grierson of Screen Daily called it "a tense, unsettling experience that offers very little gore but nonetheless knows how to turn the stomach." Ryan Daley of Bloody Disgusting rated it 3.5/5 stars and wrote that the film "lacks any real surprises" but "has a lot to say and it says it well." Drew Tinnin of Dread Central rated it 2.5/5 stars and wrote that the payoff is much better than the slow-paced buildup.