Dark, slow but steady film about the apparently normal Parker family, who share a macabre secret ritual. Excellent acting and cinematography bring an immediate realism that really carries this film. WARNING: If gore and grossness get to you, stay away. While WE ARE WHAT WE ARE is not just a constant schlock-fest, there is some pretty disturbing stuff here: Short but graphic scenes of an autopsy, etc.
There's been some debate about whether or not WAWWA is really a horror film, and I would vote a definite "yea" even though the whole mood and atmosphere are different (and better in many ways) than most contemporary horror flicks. There are some elements of suspense, but you know the big "secret" before it's halfway through--the cover also gives a decent hint--so it doesn't exactly work as a mystery. Regardless, the brief flashbacks to the family's ancestors in the 1780s add a great deal.
Though none of the individual elements here are anything that hasn't been done plenty of times before, WAWWA's whole combination of qualities make it a different experience. It's obviously low budget but still far from being another super-amateurish cheapie. The makers of this film did an excellent job with what they had to work with. There are some blank spots--e.g., the body in the water--and a little stronger sense of place would have been nice. At the same time, it's probably better that they don't explain every little thing away.
There's been some debate about whether or not WAWWA is really a horror film, and I would vote a definite "yea" even though the whole mood and atmosphere are different (and better in many ways) than most contemporary horror flicks. There are some elements of suspense, but you know the big "secret" before it's halfway through--the cover also gives a decent hint--so it doesn't exactly work as a mystery. Regardless, the brief flashbacks to the family's ancestors in the 1780s add a great deal.
Though none of the individual elements here are anything that hasn't been done plenty of times before, WAWWA's whole combination of qualities make it a different experience. It's obviously low budget but still far from being another super-amateurish cheapie. The makers of this film did an excellent job with what they had to work with. There are some blank spots--e.g., the body in the water--and a little stronger sense of place would have been nice. At the same time, it's probably better that they don't explain every little thing away.