We Are the Flesh


We Are the Flesh is a 2016 Mexican-French horror film that was written and directed by Emiliano Rocha Minter. The film premiered on 2 February 2016 at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and had a limited release in the United States in January 2017.

Plot

An unknown apocalypse has devastated the globe, forcing siblings Lucio and Fauna to forage for food and shelter in a hostile environment. They happen to come across Mariano, a man who offers them both of these things, but at a cost: they must help him turn an abandoned building into a cave/cocoon-esque structure. He also demands that the siblings have sex with one another while he watches and masturbates. With few other options the two comply, only for this act to be the start of many strange and horrific things they must do in order to survive.

Cast

Critical reception for We Are the Flesh has been generally positive and the film holds a rating of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 40 reviews with an average rating of 6.16/10. Reviewers for The Guardian rated the movie at two and three stars, with one reviewer noting that it was "a bit like Jorge Michel Grau’s movie We Are What We Are, only without the satirical purpose." Variety noted that reactions to We Are the Flesh would differ greatly depending on the viewer and that it was an "extreme Mexican fiesta of incest, cannibalism and explicit sex that should earn detractors and fans in equal measure."
Horror outlets Fangoria and Bloody Disgusting both gave the movie favorable reviews, with the latter praising the movie's camerawork, use of colour, sound and acting while also commenting that some viewers "will certainly be offended, and others frustrated." Dread Central was mixed in their review, writing that "This is the kind of visceral, boundary-pushing cinema that will never, ever be accepted by mainstream filmgoers – and will likely be hard going even for those accustomed to transgressive filmmaking."