Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- oppressive
- bleak
- disturbing
- late night horror viewing
- arthouse horror marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly view the film as a dark, socially conscious elevated-horror drama whose family conflict and political undercurrents are strengthened by graphic gore, though its humorless distance can limit emotional identification.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The family's literal consumption of human flesh is tied to poverty, status, and inherited obligations.
After the patriarch dies, the teenagers must assume the family's hunting, preparation, and ceremonial duties.
The critical reception specifically emphasizes the film's dark, humorless register, reinforced by its austere family drama.
The family lives in a city while secretly maintaining the practical demands of cannibalism.
Films like We Are What We Are, and why
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
shared elevated horror, family dysfunction, social critique, and visceral cannibalistic imagery
The Loved Ones
shared bleak psychological horror, domestic oppression, and unsettling body-centered violence
The People Under the Stairs
shared socially conscious horror, marginalized protagonists, and grim family-centered dread
The Woman
shared austere atmosphere, ritualized violence, and horror rooted in socioeconomic anxiety
Movie Details
- Director
- Jorge Michel Grau
- Release Date
- 2010-11-12
- Runtime
- 90 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (138)
Cast
- Paulina Gaitán
- Francisco Barreiro
- Alan Chávez
- Carmen Beato
- Adrián Aguirre
- Miriam Balderas
- Jorge Zárate
- Esteban Soberanes
- Miguel Ángel Hoppe
- Noé Hernández
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo
- Rent
- Amazon Video
- Buy
- Amazon Video
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is We Are What We Are about?
- After their patriarch dies, a cannibal family’s teenage children struggle to preserve their inherited rituals in contemporary Mexico.
- What is We Are What We Are like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of We Are What We Are as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is We Are What We Are violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in We Are What We Are as graphic.
- What did critics think of We Are What We Are?
- Critics broadly view the film as a dark, socially conscious elevated-horror drama whose family conflict and political undercurrents are strengthened by graphic gore, though its humorless distance can limit emotional identification.
- Which films are like We Are What We Are?
- Films with a similar feel include The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Loved Ones, The People Under the Stairs, and The Woman.
- How long is We Are What We Are?
- We Are What We Are runs 90 minutes.
- Where can I watch We Are What We Are?
- In United States, We Are What We Are streams on Philo.
