The family patriach in the Mexican horror import “We Are What We Are” dies in the opening minutes, leaving his loved ones without someone to provide their basic needs.
For this clan, the word “basic” isn’t what you think.
The family feasts on flesh for survival, and now they need to find a new way to get their three squares a day. It’s a haunting premise for a horror film, one brimming with commentary about family obligations and the emotional ties that bind. But director Jorge Michel Grau neglects to give us a reason to root for this unholy brood, and there aren’t enough shocks to sustain an otherwise gripping concept.
The film opens with a middle-aged man staggering toward a shop window display, black liquid dribbling out of his mouth. He collapses, and the scene shifts to his concered family members. The man had fixed watches to help pay the bills, and he also killed prostitutes to feed them.
His passing leaves the sensitive Alfredo (Francisco Barreiro) in charge of keeping the family “ritual” alive. But he’s uncomfortable with the role and has his own sexuality issues commanding his attention. Perhaps Alfredo (Alan Chavez) could take over, given his fiery temper would make him more likely to kill as needed. But neither seems suited to the task.
“We Are” has a “Human Centipede” vibe, the sense that the horror genre is being lured into an uncomfortable new space. The setting, a shabby home in Mexico City, is a perfect venue for this monstrous family to adjust to its new life. But we never get to know the characters in a way that would make the film truly morbid – and memorable. What if we cared about this family despite their ghoulish nature? The actors turn in one-note performances save sister Sabina (Paulina Gaitan), who appears both emotionally torn by their culinary habits and accepting of their needs.
What’s most intriguing is how the film spins the notion of male dominance on its head. The women in the family, including the take-no-prisoners Ma (Carmen Beato), seem better choices to keep the family heritage alive.
The movie doesn’t explain why the family exists as it does, and that murky quality helps sell the concept. But without intriguing personalities to follow, “We Are What We Are” is simply a toxically slow horror film. A few squeamish sequences jar our sensibilities, and the barbaric way the family takes out the food is chilling. But that’s hardly enough to sustain the narrative.
“We Are What We Are” arrives as an intellectually bold stamp on the horror genre. Then why is it so lifeless?
The DVD comes with the film’s trailer, a “making of” featurette, and, thankfully, no cooking segments.
(Photo: Francisco Barreiro plays a young man tasked with taking over his unusual family after his father’s death in “We Are What We Are.” IFC Films)
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