We are what we are

C+

Jorge Michel Grau

The latest entry in the horror-realist genre, Mexican Jorge Michel Grau's "We are what we are" is an uneven and ultimately disappointing film that wastes a pretty decent (if not entirely original) premise.

A family of cannibals living in the slums of Mexico City is faced with dire straights when the family's patriarch, the main bread (or should I say flesh?) winner of the family dies unexpectedly. The family's eldest son reluctantly takes over the grim task of providing for the family but with very messy results.

"We are what we are" covers surprisingly little ground during its 99 minute running time and the film feels incredibly thin as a consequences. Grau's choice to focus on a wide number of characters and spend excessive amounts of time on peripheral events (for instance the banter between two workers at the morgue who never show up in the film again afterward) cripples his film by leaving precious little time for the story at the core of "We are what we are" to develop. Grau also casts his net too wide in trying to deal with several different topics and he manages the pace of the film rather poorly.

This isn't to say that "We are what we are" is a total bust. Grau succeeds in building some real suspense in places and the film also offers some sly moments of black humor that fits well with the overall mood of the film. The film looks authentic despite its less than credible premise and the production values are quite high for a film with such a low budget. In the sub genre of horror-realism, however, "We are what we are" doesn't stand up to the competition.