Synopsis: The Parkers, a reclusive family who follow ancient customs, find their secret existence threatened as a torrential downpour moves into their area, forcing daughters Iris and Rose to assume responsibilities beyond those of a typical family.
My Quick Review: There is plenty to like about We Are what we are, the remake of the mexican movie “Somos Lo Que Hay”, it’s a pity I did not like the movie as a sum of those likable parts.
Since I haven’t seen the original movie, I won’t be comparing notes and criticizing the differences between the two version.
What I can do though is pinpointing what works in the american version: The cast, first and foremost, led by Bill Sage, Ambyr Childers and Julia Garner is just plain brilliant and makes the characters look authentic; not an easy feat when you know what this family is all about. The direction, perfectly served by a great score makes the movie looks and sounds like a oscar-runner film.
If it sounds as if I enjoyed the movie, well I didn’t. You know exactly where the story is going and it takes more than 2/3rd of the movie for anything exciting to happen. Even a somewhat disturbing ending can not make it for the 90mn leading to that moment.
I do enjoy slow-burns movies but I need to being kept entertained in one way or another by the script and it did not do it for me in We Are what We are. This movie reminded me a bit about The Woman with maybe better direction but much less fun and creep factor.
With that being said I’m still looking forward Jim Mickle’s next film since he proved to me that Stake Land was no fluke: he is a very talented director.
My Rating: 5.5/10
Director: Jim Mickle
Origin: US