We are the Flesh review: A dark and disturbing foreign language arthouse horror that seeks to shock with explicit sexual scenes.
We are the Flesh review, Kat Hughes, November 2016.
The plot of We are the Flesh is pretty basic, a brother and sister stumble upon a lonely man in a dilapidated building. He offers them sanctuary in exchange for their help making the building into a fully-fledged nest. As the trio get to know one another, the man starts to make increasingly more depraved demands.
It’s around the time that the first extreme demand is made that the story is lost. The remaining run time, about half the film, focuses on a string of debauched sexually explicit sequences. And we do mean explicit… We are the Flesh features more erect members and money shots than your average internet pornography.
The subject matter is controversial – incest, rape, necrophilia, being just a few of the featured acts, and it is a film that will certainly shock the majority. Underneath this shock agenda however, is a well stylised arthouse picture. The environment that our trio fornicate in is reminiscent of how one would envision the womb – warm and inviting. Lit in warm oranges and reds, and accompanied by a soothing, almost heartbeat paced score, this could have been a rather relaxing affair. However, juxtaposing this inviting environment is continuous perverse rutting that leaves barely a sexual taboo standing, and the magic is lost.
By the time that our story finishes there has been so much flesh on display that you have become almost desensitised. The intended message gets lost in translation, which is a shame given how pretty the film is capable of looking. This is a film that would have benefited from just one or two of the strong scenes, a la Irreversible, with the rest of the film exploring a more compelling narrative.
We are the Flesh has much in common with this year’s earlier twisted horror, Baskin. Both are foreign language, they share the same colour palette (reds and blues) and each manages to turn the stomach. Whilst Baskin relied on the gore and squelches, We are the Flesh focuses on the sexual depravity of man (and woman). A deliriously depraved take on Hansel and Gretel, We are the Flesh will haunt you for all the wrong reasons.
We are the Flesh review by Kat Hughes, November 2016.
We are the Flesh plays in selected UK cinemas from Friday 18th November 2016.
