Review: We Are Still Here (2015)

Directed by: Ted Geoghegan | 84 minutes | horror | Actors: Barbara Crampton, Andrew Sensenig, Lisa Marie, Larry Fessenden, Monte Markham, Susan Gibney, Michael Patrick Nicholson, Kelsea Dakota, Guy Gane, Elissa Dowling, Zorah Burress, Marvin Patterson, Connie Neer, Samantha Buckman, Richard Barry

After the tragic death of their teenage son in a car accident, Paul and Anne Sacchetti decide to start a new life in peaceful rural New England. What the grieving couple don’t know, however, is that the house they move into has been owned by a vengeful ghost family for over a century. On top of that, the neighbors are also behaving strangely. What other dark secrets is the seemingly peaceful village community trying to hide? Attacked from all sides, the Sacchetti’s must fight both the living and the dead. But can they still save their souls and that of their dead son?

“We Are Still Here” is a true haunted house film in terms of plot that, at first glance, does not bring anything new under the sun. What is immediately striking is that the story mainly revolves around a middle-aged couple, a somewhat different choice in the modern horror genre, which is usually populated by young characters. The film starts off rather calmly with images of snowy landscapes and the interior of the old house that the two main protagonists move into after the tragic death of their son. By initially limiting itself to some horror stories and mild horror effects, “We Are Still Here” seems to develop into a thoughtfully constructed and not very original ghost film that has more of the suspense than the heavier horror elements. Until the slowly rippling story suddenly, without prior announcement and actually like a bolt from the blue, degenerates into a splatterfest where the blood flows freely and the necessary characters come to an end in a very unpleasant way. The gore is sometimes a bit reminiscent of a more subtle, with a bit more finesse version of the work of the Italian cult director Lucio Fulci and is quite effective. The plot twists and turns do not always work optimally and even though you only know exactly how things work after the end credits, more experienced viewers will already suspect in which direction the film is maneuvering. The acting (the most important performers already have a horror past) is not great, but not terribly bad either.

A world film is not “We Are Still Here”, but it is clear why the print still receives reasonable to good reviews from many reviewers. The film is clearly an ode to the grindhouse horror of the eighties of the twentieth century and quite a fairly plumable mishmash of psychological and more plastic horrors.