The haunted house horror We Are Still Here was another SXSW darling that was screening at Fantasia this
year. After establishing himself as a writer and producer (most
recently on The ABC's of Death 2), I was very much looking forward to
seeing Ted Geoghegan's first stint in the director's chair.
Grieving parents Anne (Barbara
Crampton) & Paul (Andrew Sensenig) retreat to an old house in New
England only to find it may be haunted.
We Are Still Here was a very enjoyable
affair. Geoghegan is another cinephile who grew up during the home
video era and you can tell where his influences lie, most prominently
the work of Lucio Fulci. Aside from the neat callbacks to The Beyond –
there is no Joe the Plumber, but there is a Joe the Electrician –
this film has huge helpings of House by the Cemetery.
I thought this film was really well
made and featured a strong core of actors who've worked with some of the most exciting genre filmmakers in the business. In addition
to genre veterans Barbara Crampton & Andrew Sensenig, you also
had indie icon Larry Fessenden who adds energy to every project he
appears in.
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Barbara Crampton as Anne in We Are Still Here. |
The thing I liked most about We Are
Still Here was that Geoghegan was able to incorporate the best of both worlds.
The majority of the film was reserved and atmospheric and then built to
an explosive crescendo of gore. I have to liken it to Ti West's 2009 effort House of the Devil, except We Are Still Here boasts a satisfying
conclusion.
It is more credit to the film that I still had a positive experience despite the obnoxious asshole sitting behind us at the screening. Being enthusiastic during a movie is
one thing, hooting and hollering at every little thing is quite
another. As my friend put it, it was like he'd never seen a horror
film outside of his living room before and had been waiting his whole life to witness one on the big screen. It's a dilemma because can't you really call
someone out for being excited, especially when the director specifically
encouraged the crowd to be vocal in his intro. I don't know, maybe
I'm just an old man shaking his fist at a cloud.
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I crush your head! |
Regardless, Geoghegan's debut is an
impressive little ghost yarn that finds just the right balance
between freshness and homage. His intent was to create something that
would not feel out of place on a video store shelf circa 1983 and he
has done just that.
3 comments:
You know, it just might have been!
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