We Are Still HereEvery house needs a family. When grieving parents Anne (Barbara Crampton) and Paul Sacchetti (Andrew Sensenig) move into a rustic, upstate cottage one winter, hoping to escape their sorrow over the loss of their son, Bobby, they discover that the century home has a sordid past. Soon after, the house manifests vengeful spirits, ghostly forms with skin charred to a crisp, who violently attack and kill those it deems as intruders. Anne and Paul find themselves out of their depth, not only in the face of supernatural horror, but also in surviving the cult-like psychosis which has gripped the residents of their new town.
|
|
We Are Still Here is a send up to a style of horror films emblematic of the genre produced in the 1970s, which has become something of the metier of publisher Dark Sky Films, with examples including The House of the Devil. Set design is evocative of 1979 (the year We Are Still Here is set in) with vintage cars and clothes, and is carried over in tone of the film. We Are Still Here is at its core a violent haunted house film, recalling movies like Burnt Offerings or The Amityville Horror. The grief which Anne and Paul experience haunts them, and they struggle to cope with both the recent loss of Bobby, but also with the presence of the supernatural, manifesting in the form of a persistent dread, thematic elements also found in films like Don't Look Now. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that the Sacchettis are unwittingly involved in a community-orchestrated plot at their expense, making the parallels between We Are Still Here and films like The Wicker Man more abundant. The location of We Are Still Here gives the film a sense of isolation and vulnerability. Practically stranded out in the snow-ridden rustic landscape in the New England countryside, there is a sense that any real help the Sacchettis need when they need it is always miles away. The help they do receive comes in the form of their departed son's former roommate's parents, May (Lisa Marie) and Jacob Lewis (Larry Fessenden), who the Sacchettis hope will help to confirm a certain feeling Anne has had that the spirit of Bobby is somehow with them in this house. There are shots of the house that are held for longer than comfortable stretches of time, from the interior and the exterior--noteworthy considering the relative brevity of the film. The effect is to instill a familiar, home-like quality, while also creating a sense of anxiety, as though something doesn't belong, or something is looming, waiting to strike. The faint sonorous hum on the musical score also ramps up the dread, a tone resembling the sound of a furnace. The basement is a dark, hot, and eerie locale, but looks similar to any other basement one might find in an old house, crumbling foundation and all. This also reinforces the sense that this domestic horror turned supernatural is more tangible, literally hitting closer to home.
We Are Still Here emphasizes the emptiness in the Sacchettis in some subtle ways. Notice how for much of the first half of the movie, they are rarely without a drink nearby; Paul even offers whisky to their neighbors, Dave (Monte Markham) and Cat McCabe (Connie Neer), as well as May and Jacob when they arrive. It is hospitable, but there is a sense that these people still mourn Bobby, and attempt to numb that pain with alcohol. Even when May and Jacob's son, Harry (Michael Patrick), and his girlfriend, Daniella (Kelsea Dakota), arrive, they also partake of the booze--from an apparently endless bottle of J&B scotch. While Harry's girlfriend may not show much sympathy, it stands to reason that even though reluctant to attend, even Harry must miss his friend. The grief burns them all from the inside, like the manifestations which haunt the house. When Anne and Paul first meet Dave, he tells them the history of their new home, once the dominion of a 19th century family known as the Dagmars, a macabre tale involving desecrated corpses and other such elements of urban legend. But Dave's story--creepy as it is--is a version which only scratches the surface of the real horror which is tied to the Dagmar family legacy. This history never gets an overly detailed exposition, which is good as it allows for the audience to fill in much of the blanks for themselves. What does come forth emerges from several sources, many of which are of questionable reliability, contributing to the mythical quality of the dark powers at work. During a seance, Jacob becomes possessed by the spirit of the house, and the forces controlling him turn him from a laid-back stoner and into a threatening force, reminiscent of Jack Nicholson's performance in The Shining. Here we get some idea of the real evil at work in the town, but consider that it is, even here, a perspective emerging from a source which is overflowing with murderous rage. One of the most illuminating moments on the history of the Dagmars comes during the end credits, with a montage of newspaper articles detailing the misfortunes to befall the town; but by this point, we already have to process this revelation through a filter, aware that it is also part of an elaborate cover-up. The spirits haunting the house are terribly violent and wrathful, not merely content to burn their victims, but also cause them to die under cruel and bloody deaths as their fury escalates. Dave cryptically observes early on that "this house needs a family". As the spirits attack the living, one suspects that this is their own method of coping with their inability to relinquish their grasp on the mortal world; as May observes, Bobby might be experiencing this as he haunts the Sacchettis. So when they invite their friends to the house, it is as though they were stoking these flames of envy or sorrow, encouraging the spirits' anger to burn brighter. And as these manifestations become more rapid, and the plot surrounding the Dagmars is revealed to the new owners, everything rushes together into a violent collision of conspiracy and infernal rage.
Recommended for: Fans of a horror movie recalling the style of Seventies-era thrillers, part paranoia-laden complexity and a haunted house story with deadly ghosts. The elements of dread and grief also add weight to the terror.
We Are Still Here emphasizes the emptiness in the Sacchettis in some subtle ways. Notice how for much of the first half of the movie, they are rarely without a drink nearby; Paul even offers whisky to their neighbors, Dave (Monte Markham) and Cat McCabe (Connie Neer), as well as May and Jacob when they arrive. It is hospitable, but there is a sense that these people still mourn Bobby, and attempt to numb that pain with alcohol. Even when May and Jacob's son, Harry (Michael Patrick), and his girlfriend, Daniella (Kelsea Dakota), arrive, they also partake of the booze--from an apparently endless bottle of J&B scotch. While Harry's girlfriend may not show much sympathy, it stands to reason that even though reluctant to attend, even Harry must miss his friend. The grief burns them all from the inside, like the manifestations which haunt the house. When Anne and Paul first meet Dave, he tells them the history of their new home, once the dominion of a 19th century family known as the Dagmars, a macabre tale involving desecrated corpses and other such elements of urban legend. But Dave's story--creepy as it is--is a version which only scratches the surface of the real horror which is tied to the Dagmar family legacy. This history never gets an overly detailed exposition, which is good as it allows for the audience to fill in much of the blanks for themselves. What does come forth emerges from several sources, many of which are of questionable reliability, contributing to the mythical quality of the dark powers at work. During a seance, Jacob becomes possessed by the spirit of the house, and the forces controlling him turn him from a laid-back stoner and into a threatening force, reminiscent of Jack Nicholson's performance in The Shining. Here we get some idea of the real evil at work in the town, but consider that it is, even here, a perspective emerging from a source which is overflowing with murderous rage. One of the most illuminating moments on the history of the Dagmars comes during the end credits, with a montage of newspaper articles detailing the misfortunes to befall the town; but by this point, we already have to process this revelation through a filter, aware that it is also part of an elaborate cover-up. The spirits haunting the house are terribly violent and wrathful, not merely content to burn their victims, but also cause them to die under cruel and bloody deaths as their fury escalates. Dave cryptically observes early on that "this house needs a family". As the spirits attack the living, one suspects that this is their own method of coping with their inability to relinquish their grasp on the mortal world; as May observes, Bobby might be experiencing this as he haunts the Sacchettis. So when they invite their friends to the house, it is as though they were stoking these flames of envy or sorrow, encouraging the spirits' anger to burn brighter. And as these manifestations become more rapid, and the plot surrounding the Dagmars is revealed to the new owners, everything rushes together into a violent collision of conspiracy and infernal rage.
Recommended for: Fans of a horror movie recalling the style of Seventies-era thrillers, part paranoia-laden complexity and a haunted house story with deadly ghosts. The elements of dread and grief also add weight to the terror.