We Are Still Here is Adrenaline Pumping Fun

Barbara Crampton in Ted Geoghegan's We Are Still Here (2015)

Ted Geoghegan's newest film, We Are Still Here is easily comparable to a rollercoaster, while simultaneously serving as a heartfelt love letter to a wide variety of horror movies from the sixties and seventies (albeit, not as tongue-in-cheek or blatantly obvious as Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon's fantastic Cabin in the Woods, but a love letter nonetheless). At first, it's tedious. The film opens with slow lingering shots of snowfall and trees. Throughout the film there is an abundance of random cuts to shots of trees, and even though they're not enough to even compare to the The Revenant, it does become a bit redundant. The premise of the film is simple, two grieving parents move to an isolated home in rural New England to try and find closure after the death of their son. Of course, because this is a horror film the home they move into may not be the wisest real estate investment for miserable Anne and Paul.

The film takes its time while ramping up, and despite the well composed shots and nice steady camera movements, one might even say that it dangerously teeters toward being boring in some moments, particularly during the extended scenes of silence with no distinct mood or particularly interesting imagery to look at (one can only be entertained by seeing different angles of the same tree so many times). Eventually, strange things begin happening, and when Anne and Paul invite their eccentric spiritualist friends to help them contact the dead son they believe is haunting their home, it's quickly made clear that they have made a terrible mistake.

We Are Still Here is certainly a flawed movie. Some of the acting feels stilted and awkward, the wardrobe and makeup (mostly for the women in the film) appeared far too modern despite the fact that it is meant to take place in the seventies, the fantastic ambient soundtrack is too sparse and leaves too many long silences which are uncomfortable in the sense that nothing is happening, rather than uncomfortable because we fear what may happen soon. However, despite these flaws, We Are Still Here is a fantastic film.

Larry Fessenden's performance as Jacob Lewis is fantastic, and though his acting skills sometimes highlight his costars lackluster performances, he steals the show and quickly speeds the film along into something memorable for all the right reasons. We Are Still Here makes up for all the boredom and temptation to turn off the movie with one of the most entertaining climaxes I have seen in a long time. It cautiously toes the line between campy and sincere, and it is for this reason that the film is so endearing. With fantastic practical effects, hilariously ridiculous amounts of blood, and satisfying and creative deaths for those trying to bring harm to our protagonists, We Are Still Here manages to climb out of its tedious monotony and transform itself into a hilarious and adrenaline pumping final sequence which fans of horror will reflect on fondly among the likes of the final sequences of A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Evil Dead.

If you are a fan of horror, particularly the likes of The Evil Dead (which this movie's third act bears a striking and rather flattering resemblance to in some moments), I highly recommend that you seek it out as soon as possible.

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