We Are Still Here is a 2015 American supernatural horror film. It follows grieving parents who move to a house in rural New England, hoping to begin a new life. They soon learn the home has a dark history. Ted Geoghegan wrote and directed the film. Andrew Sensenig and Barbara Crampton play the grieving parents. The movie premiered at South by Southwest on March 15, 2015. It was released in the United States on June 5, 2015, by Dark Sky Films.
Plot
In 1979, after their son Bobby died in a car accident, Anne and Paul Sacchetti decided to move to a new home in rural New England. Paul hoped the move would help Anne feel better, as she had become very sad and struggled with depression after Bobby's death. However, Anne began saying that Bobby was present in the house, and her neighbor, Cat McCabe, warned them to leave. The house was built in the 1800s by the Dagmar family, who operated a funeral home. The Dagmars were reportedly forced to leave the village after people discovered they had tricked customers by selling bodies and burying empty caskets.
Despite Cat's warning, Anne invited her friends May and Jacob Lewis, who are spiritualists, to help her contact Bobby. The couples went to a restaurant, where May and Jacob’s son Harry arrived with his girlfriend, Daniella. Harry was killed by an apparition in the basement, and Daniella fled in fear before she was also killed. After returning home, Cat’s husband, Dave, arrived at the restaurant, killed a waitress, and told the bartender that the Dagmar house must be fed every 30 years or the evil beneath it would destroy the town by searching for new victims.
Jacob convinced Paul to hold a séance while their wives were away. During the séance, Jacob was taken over by the spirit of Lassander Dagmar, who revealed that the villagers had not driven the Dagmars away but had instead used them as sacrifices to the evil under the house. Overcome with anger, Lassander caused Jacob to kill himself. May tried to escape but was killed by Dave, who had arrived at the house with other townspeople determined to satisfy the evil. Anne and Paul heard Bobby’s voice urging them to leave, and they fled upstairs as the townspeople broke into the house.
The spirits of the Dagmar family killed most of the townspeople, leaving only Dave, Paul, and Anne. Dave tried to kill Paul and Anne but was killed by Lassander’s spirit. As Paul and Anne looked around at the destruction, the spirits left the house, finally satisfied. Anne entered the house’s cellar after hearing Bobby call her, followed by Paul. As Paul looked down the stairs, he smiled and said, “Hey Bobby.”
Production
Filmmaker Ted Geoghegan started working on the film as a tribute to The House by the Cemetery (1981) while serving as a publicist for Dark Sky Films. Before this, Geoghegan had worked with Andreas Schnaas on several low-budget films as a writer and producer, but he had never directed a movie before. After finishing the script, he shared it with Dark Sky Films and Travis Stevens of Snowfort Pictures, who both agreed to help produce the film.
Filming occurred on February 7, 2014, in Rochester, New York, and in the villages of Palmyra and Shortsville. According to the director and the credits at the end of the film, the story takes place in the fictional township of Aylesbury, Massachusetts.
Soundtrack
The music score was written by Wojciech Golczewski. It was released on July 7, 2015, by Screamworks Records.
Release
The movie We Are Still Here had its first showing at South by Southwest on March 15, 2015. It was shown in some theaters and available through video on demand in the United States on June 5, 2015, by Dark Sky Films. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the U.S. on October 6, 2015. It opened in theaters in Japan on December 12, 2015, and in Russia on December 17, 2015.
Reception
The film We Are Still Here has a 95% approval rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 42 reviews, with an average score of 7.2 out of 10. Critics on the site said the film is "smart, powerfully acted, and clever in a tricky way," and noted that it brings fresh ideas to familiar themes while showing that writer-director Ted Geoghegan is a talented filmmaker. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 65 out of 100, based on 7 critics, which means most reviews are positive.
The film was well-received when it first premiered and later released. It became one of the most praised horror films of the year. Rolling Stone listed it among the top ten horror films of the year. Many critics praised the film’s atmosphere and visuals, with Twitch Film calling them "stylish and mesmerizing." Film School Rejects also gave the film a positive review, highlighting its jump scares and noting that it shows respect for the horror genre.