We Are What We Are 2013

Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: It's all a little silly, but Mr. Mickle's restrained gravity stifles the impulse to laugh. Read more

Sara Stewart, New York Post: "We Are What We Are" is a first-rate example of good storytelling and well-timed - while not excessive - gore. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: The movie stays elegantly restrained just long enough for the true horror of what they're doing to sink in. Read more

James Rocchi, MSN Movies: We Are What We Are is a re-make that succeeds superbly while remaining true to the strange and sad intimately grotesque spirit of the original. Read more

Guy Lodge, Variety: Genre buffs will dig in with gusto. Read more

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, AV Club: Plays less like a contemporary horror film than an increasingly gruesome drama, building to a climax-completely original to this version-where the movie's core themes are expressed through grotesque imagery. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: "We Are What We Are" is such a patient, trusting film it may take you a while to figure out it's a horror film. Read more

Peter Keough, Boston Globe: A campy and sometimes elegant American Gothic horror story. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: The original was nothing special, but at least it had a sense of humor and a modicum of social insight. Read more

William Goss, Film.com: One of the best American horror films of the year. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: A refreshingly mature genre entry that plants queasy dread and unleashes a good dose of scares, tempering its gruesome bloodshed by wrapping it in serious-mindedness. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: Mickle never seems in a hurry, so there is time to take note of the detail. "We Are" is rich in that regard. Read more

Ian Buckwalter, NPR: At 72, Parks turns in one of the most tender performances of his career - before reminding us, in the end, that he's still a guy who can sit across a table and make you tremble in fear with a stony gaze. Read more

Jordan Hoffman, New York Daily News: A [horror] film where ambiance, glossy imagery and performance are more effective than the splatter. Read more

Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: We Are What We Are doesn't waste time with cheap scares. Mickle keeps his story on a steady, slow simmer, transporting us minute by minute into the very heart of dread. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: It's a sinister, wistful and even sad portrait of one family that has followed the insanity and bloodthirstiness of American history into a dark corridor with no exit. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: The movie saves most of its modest number of jolts for its last quarter or so, which makes them all the more intense. They stick in your craw - and be warned, they're not for the squeamish. Read more

Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times: A family implodes with a biting commentary on patriarchy. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Outside of its cracked psychology (well conveyed by papa Bill Sage), We Are What We Are is horror leftovers, neither inedible nor piping hot. Read more

Pete Vonder Haar, Village Voice: It isn't until the ending, which turns the squirm amplifier up to 11 and exceeded even my horrific expectations, that we finally see the story's potential realized. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: There's some fun to be had, as long as your idea of fun includes being grossed out. Read more