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We Are What We Are

Play trailer Poster for We Are What We Are R 2013 1h 46m Drama Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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86% Tomatometer 90 Reviews 50% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
The Parkers, reclusive people who cling to ancient customs, find their secret lives threatened when a torrential downpour and the death of the family matriarch forces daughters Iris and Rose to assume special responsibilities.
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We Are What We Are

We Are What We Are

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Critics Reviews

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Mark Kermode Observer (UK) Mar 2, 2014
3/5
An ambitious (if somewhat uneven) slice of downbeat American gothic which interweaves grim melancholia with pointed satire, doomy portent and moments of gnawing revulsion. Go to Full Review Geoffrey Macnab Independent (UK) Feb 28, 2014
3/5
Some of the film is gruesome in the extreme but there is always lyricism and pathos alongside the bloodletting. Go to Full Review Lisa Mullen Sight & Sound Feb 28, 2014
Mickle and co-writer Nick Damici give themselves plenty of time to tease out their themes and ladle on the tension. Go to Full Review Matt Oakes Silver Screen Riot Oct 15, 2026
C+
There is one well-earned payoff that legitimizes a watch, even if it won't make you eager to eat meat anytime soon. Go to Full Review Erick Estrada Cinegarage Jul 18, 2023
Mickle made a good movie, very American, coming out of a great Mexican script. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Brent McKnight The Last Thing I See Jul 8, 2020
B+
Moody, tense, and delicately layered, when you boil it down to the bare essentials, this is still the story of an isolated, woodsy family eating folk. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Rich C. @Cordu0702 Apr 18, 2026 Absolutely loved this film. Top 5 all time ending in a film. A must watch! See more Gregarious Y @RT74841773 Apr 9, 2026 Ending made me gag and almost throw up. Do not recommend. See more R V. @rvalerio Jan 12, 2026 Not worth watching. Weird ending. See more Blackbird Broken Wing T @Lilw0lf Dec 10, 2025 (SPOILERS!!) There are some pacing issues and times where the non-familial characters actions frustrate me but over all this is a decent watch. The real saving grace for me is the aspect of cannibalism that I rarely see touched on in horror movies. Kuru, a fatal prion disease that is acquired via cannibalism is the jumping off point of the film as it is the thing that kills the mother and sets off the rest of the events in the movie. The way this illness becomes the reason this family continues their cannibalistic practice is fascinating. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts. The father isn't wrong that there is a curse on their bloodline but what he fails to see is the curse is one of their own making. Actions that first come about as a means of desperate survival are rationalized to the point that the action that once saved the family is continued even when it becomes the reason they are dying. See more Lúcio Leonardo P @LucioTomas Oct 28, 2024 With an slow story, director Jim Mickle doesn't know if he wants to make a dramatic and horrendous thriller or if he wants a trashy horror, and this indecision makes us lose interest in how this film will end. Apart from the protagonists Julia Garner and Ambyr Childers, we have a very bad performance from the cast and, as was not to be missed, we also have plot holes and direction flaws. However, the ending of this film may surprise you! I was there, thanking the gods for the approaching end, when the last 2 minutes entered and it came to my mind: “we are what we are…” See more Georgan G @RT98616417 May 18, 2024 Great acting in a well done scary plot filled with gore & horror. I could not take my eyes off the screen. Even if you are not a fan of the horror genre, this is worth your time. See more Read all reviews
We Are What We Are

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Cast & Crew

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Jim Mickle

Director

Ambyr Childers

Iris Parker

Odeya Rush

Alyce Parker

Kelly McGillis

Marge

Wyatt Russell

Deputy Anders

Julia Garner

Rose Parker

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We Are What We Are

We Are What We Are (2013) We Are What We Are (2013) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis The Parkers, reclusive people who cling to ancient customs, find their secret lives threatened when a torrential downpour and the death of the family matriarch forces daughters Iris and Rose to assume special responsibilities.
Director
Jim Mickle
Producer
Rodrigo Bellott, Andrew Corkin, Nick Shumaker, Jack Turner, Nicholas Kaiser
Screenwriter
Nick Damici, Jim Mickle
Production Co
Belladonna Productions LLC
Rating
R (Disturbing Violence|Bloody Images|Language|Nudity|Some Sexuality)
Genre
Drama, Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 11, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$76.6K
Runtime
1h 46m
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