We Are Still Here
Dir: Ted Geoghegan
Starring: Barbara Crampton, Andrew Sensenig, Lisa Marie, Larry
Fessenden, and Monte Markham
84 Minutes
Dark Sky Films
The haunted house genre is plentiful with material lately.
With the successful box office success of recent years, the quality of the
scares has become rather stagnant, with most reduced to methods of turning the
volume up to eleven in promotion of the jump scare. Still, there is something
about these films that remain fascinating and keep audiences coming back year
after year, sequel after sequel. Just as the “Saw” franchise made gore fans
return to see what new and creative methods of blood-spattered violence could
be utilized, the haunted house genre makes viewers ponder the new ways they can
be scared, perhaps startled is a better term. The films in horror that maintain
beyond the exit door are always the ones that are inventive and display an
understanding for how horror films work.
“We Are Still Here” is the directorial debut from Ted
Geoghegan, who also wrote and produced the film. The film takes place in 1979
in the isolated, snowy region of a small New England town. Anne (Barbara
Crampton) and Paul (Andrew Sensenig) are moving away from the big city after
the tragic death of their son in an automobile accident. Anne is devastated,
lost in the memories of the past and torn by every step forward into the
future. The emotional separation of the couple and the turmoil it has put on
their marriage can be felt in early scenes that display Paul’s frustration with
Anne. Barbara Crampton has always been interesting to watch, from her roles in
“Re-Animator”, “From Beyond”, and even recently “You’re Next”. She has proven herself a talented seasoned
veteran. Genre mainstay Larry Fessenden makes a welcome appearance in a comedic
role that has an unexpected horror twist.
Things take a bit of turn when the couple begins to
experience strange happenings within the house, with each encounter with the
entities becoming stronger, more violent, and soon deadly. Anne and Paul realize
that there is more to the house than the spirits that are threatening them, and
soon the secrets of the community come to light. There is nothing exceptional
about the narrative, it’s all cut and paste from other horror films seen before.
What excels is the design, a mix of tension driven atmosphere that leads to
gruesome blood spilling. While the ghosts look good on first glimpse they are
over utilized, which quickly displays some of the flaws in their CGI assisted
design. And, while the actors do a good job of making the characters feel
authentic, the narrative lacks the strength to move the film into places that
would make the film more unique and less imitative.
“We Are Still Here” is a carefully paced haunted house ghost
story. While the film may suffer from narrative issues, the film works by being
content with delivering creepy, well-composed imagery over big jump scares, and
to a large degree this method works exceptionally well.
Monte’s Rating
3.00 out of 5.00
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