Movie Review: We Are Still Here (2015)

The movie stars Barbara Crampton, Andrew Sensenig, Lisa Marie, Larry Fessenden and Monte Markham.

This was a movie I wasn't too sure about when I put it on my Netflix list, mostly because it sounded a lot like so many other films we've watched in the past. In fact, the only reason we ended up watching it last night is it was relatively short (a little over 90 minutes) and we didn't get a chance to start watching a movie until later than normal.

As I kind of expected, there really wasn't much that was special about this movie. However, despite that, it was actually considerably better than I thought it would be, though I'm still a bit mixed as far as my overall opinion is concerned.

The movie, overall, is kind of predictable, at least as far as the evil spirits go. It wasn't too difficult to figure out who the victims would be and when they would die and, because of that, the film isn't as scary as it might otherwise be.

It is, however, halfway decent as a supernatural mystery because, while we are given hints about the house's past, key details about the spirits, such as what they want and why the local townspeople seem perfectly fine with sacrificing a family to them every so often, are purposely left just fuzzy enough to keep you guessing about what is happening.

Also helping this movie is the main villain, Dave McCabe (Markham). It's obvious, from the start, there's something not quite right about him and, as the movie progresses, he becomes even more unlikable. Not to mention his itchy trigger finger makes him as dangerous (and maybe even more dangerous) than the restless spirits in the house.

My biggest complaint about this movie is it seems to be a bit rushed. As I mentioned, the runtime on this film was relatively short and, because of that, the writers really didn't have an opportunity to develop some depth for the secondary characters, including McCabe. Because of this, the movie just seemed to be missing a big chunk of a much larger story, such as why the townspeople choose to cave in every 30 years and give the spirits what they want rather than simply packing up and leaving. While the movie wasn't terrible, this lack of depth did prevent it from being anything that I would consider particularly memorable.

As I said, the movie was better than I expected and there were things about it I did like. However, both because it was predictable and a bit rushed as far as the supporting characters were concerned, I don't think it quite lived up to its potential. It was average at best.

My Grade: C