The horror genre is unfortunately maligned in the film world, which is weird considering it always has a way to realistically reflect on how truly batshit crazy humanity is. It also has a penchant for how grief can shape people and that’s part of the plot of Ted Geoghegan’s now classic, 2005 Lovecraftian thriller We Are Still Here, which is now celebrating its 10th Anniversary.
Buy We Are Still Here: 10th AnniversaryThe great Barbara Crampton and Andrew Sensenig portray a grieving couple whose son has died in car accident. In order to process his death, they decide to move to a new home in New England for a fresh start. However, to make matters worse, they discover that their new residence has a very dark history, and that it needs to feed every 30 years, or the evil spirits underneath it threaten to escape and kill everyone in town.
Geoghegan and his film (his first one mind you) manage to take a rather familiar premise and subvert it with style, atmosphere, and plenty of gore. The acting from Crampton, Sensenig, as well as both Larry Fessenden and Lisa Marie as the couple’s friends is all top notch and give the film its emotional core. It’s also a very loving tribute to 1970s horror while creating its own flavor. Personally, it’s near-perfect genre fun as far as I’m concerned.
The 10th Anniversary Collector’s Edition has a few new special features and contains vintage ones from the original Blu-ray (released in 2015). They include two new featurettes: “The Darkness Under the House: The Lore of We Are Still Here” and “This House Needs a Family: We Are Still Here, Ten Years Later”, and a new commentary by Geoghegan. The vintage ones include commentary by Geoghegan and producer Travis Stevens; behind the scenes; and trailer/teaser.
If you saw this genre favorite back in 2014/2015 and loved its devilish approach to grief and want to upgrade your original Blu-ray, then this anniversary release is definitely for you. It remains as creepy, entertaining, and wonderfully made as it did back then.
Other releases:
Bugonia 4K (Universal): Director Yorgos Lanthimos and actress Emma Stone team up once again for this darkly entertaining tale of two conspiracy-obsessed young men (Jesse Plemmons and Aidan Delbis) who kidnap a high-powered CEO (Stone) convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
Perfect Blue (Shout Factory): A new edition of the disturbing 1997 anime about the dark side of fame centering on a pop singer who gives up her career to become an actress, only to be thrust into a living nightmare as a crazed stalker and the ghost of her past return to haunt her.
