150 Words About . . . WE ARE WHAT WE ARE (2013)

by James Newman

Until The Witch came along to knock it off the top spot, Jim Mickle’s (Stakeland, Cold In July) remake of the Spanish film Somos Lo Que Hay was my favorite fright flick since 2007’s The Mist.  This one’s as much Southern Gothic as it is horror – it’s gory when it needs to be, but not to the degree you might expect from a film about a clan of cannibals (tonally, think Frailty more than Texas Chainsaw Massacre).  A somber mood is established from the first frame, thanks to a never-ending rain.  Featuring another sublime performance from the late Michael Parks (From Dusk Till Dawn, Red State) as a medical examiner haunted by the disappearance of his daughter, We Are What We Are is a tale of religious extremism and familial tradition gone too far.

     This one gets my highest recommendation.  I haven’t seen the original, but should remedy that soon.