Grieving the death of their son, a couple relocate to snowed-in New England, trying to rest, recover and start anew. The last thing poor Paul and Anne need, then, is the emergence of the evil spirits residing within their home, threatening not only their lives but that of the eternal soul of their deceased son too.
Genre legend Barbara Crampton continues her career resurgence (four movies this FrightFest alone!) with We Are Still Here – possibly her best role to date, post-You’re Next (it’s better than that one too). In a starring role, she gets plenty to wrap her teeth around, imbuing Anne with a quiet strength in spite of everything she’s been through. Andrew Sensenig is good too, employing a series of excellent rollneck jumpers in his fight against evil. Then there’s Larry Fessenden, stealing the show as the pair’s hippy friend.
A love letter to Fulci and the Italian masters, this retro horror tale recalls his House by the Cemetery (as you might have guessed from the nudges and winks in the script and character names) by way of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead. And yet in spite of the gore and shocks, We Are Still Here is surprisingly gentle – a sweet and tender portrayal of grief and acceptance in the face of losing a loved one. It’s like a less raw version of The Babadook – there’s a deep sadness and tiredness behind it, as opposed to screaming anger – a sense of emotion that grounds the horror during its most shocking moments.
Like last year’s Housebound, there’s a chance that We Are Still Here will be overlooked in favour of its louder, more brash peers, but its story is well worth hearing out.
