We Are What We Are 2013

As the torrential downpour ravages the town, Emma Parker (her identity revealed only later) stumbles into a store, disoriented and drenched. The butcher, amidst receiving a delivery, is initially unsuccessful in garnering her attention, but eventually, she responds to his queries, revealing the foul weather has left her reeling. With a mix of empathy and pragmatism, he advises that the worst is yet to come before it subsides, and Emma purchases groceries as a means of coping with the chaos. As she exits the store, a haunting poster catches her eye, bearing the images of missing teenage girls. Before she can reach her car, her world begins to unravel, as she starts bleeding profusely from her mouth and succumbs to unconsciousness after striking her head on a nearby structure. The deluge proves too much for her, and Emma ultimately meets her demise in a rain-filled ditch.

In the aftermath, Sheriff [unspecified] delivers the devastating news to Frank Parker that his wife, Emma, has passed away. Overwhelmed by grief, Frank is unable to bring himself to identify the body and instead entrusts this task to his two daughters, Rose and Iris. Doctor Barrow, who had previously delivered their young son Rory, explains the mandatory autopsy protocol imposed by the state. As the examination unfolds, he uncovers evidence of Kuru disease, a grim discovery that sets the tone for the dark days ahead.

Meanwhile, Frank finds solace in the kindness of his neighbor Marge and later stumbles upon a stranded motorist during another torrential downpour. The film’s subtle yet ominous suggestion is that Frank’s compassion has given way to brutality, as he attacks her with a tire iron.

Interwoven throughout this narrative are eerie flashbacks from a journal kept by the family in their pioneer days. The worn pages recount tales of hunger and hardship during an unforgiving winter. The men of the party have largely perished in the wilderness, leaving the women to face the very real possibility of not surviving the harsh conditions.

As the Parkers’ daughters, Rose and Iris, grapple with the weight of their mother’s passing, they engage in a heated debate about whether they are prepared to assume her sacred religious duties. Iris is resolute in her conviction that they must perform this year’s ritual, despite her sister’s reservations.

In another corner of this dark tapestry, young Rory struggles to reconcile his family’s troubled past. His curiosity eventually leads him to his father’s shed, where he discovers a captive woman held hostage by Frank. The patriarch demands that his son leave the scene, but Rory soon returns with his sisters, who are forced to participate in the gruesome slaughter of their prisoner. As they reluctantly comply with their father’s wishes, the family consumes her remains after some prodding from Frank.

Marge, ever the pillar of kindness, attempts to deliver a vegetarian meal to the Parkers, expressing concern that she heard a woman crying out for help in the shed. Her welcome is met with icy indifference by Iris, signaling the depths of their despair and the darkness that now grips their lives.

As the family huddles together in their makeshift shelter, a sense of unease settles over the girls like a shroud. Their father’s behavior has become increasingly erratic, locking himself away in the depths of the cave and weeping uncontrollably through the night. The girls’ worst fears are confirmed when they discover him leading them to the lifeless body of one of their companions, brutally dissected for sustenance. His eldest daughter is handed a knife, her eyes steeling against the horror as she gazes upon the gruesome scene. Meanwhile, Barrow’s own demons have been stirred by the discovery of a bone fragment in the creek, which he believes holds the key to his daughter’s disappearance. Though Sheriff Meeks dismisses his concerns, Barrow is able to persuade Deputy Anders to take him seriously. Anders’ subsequent investigation yields more disturbing evidence, leading him to a secluded tryst with Iris, whom he has long harbored feelings for. As they surrender to their desires, Frank bursts upon the scene, taking Anders’ life and sending Iris fleeing in shame.

As the family’s dynamics become increasingly strained, Frank orders the girls to remain sequestered in their bedroom, unwittingly prompting them to concoct a plan of escape. While Frank prays alone, his mind consumed by morbid thoughts, Rose secretly retrieves the car keys, poised to make her move. When Frank prepares dinner, Rose detects a telltale sign of his sinister intentions and frantically attempts to warn Iris, only to be rebuffed. In desperation, she knocks over Rory’s bowl, shattering it on the floor in a futile attempt to prevent disaster. Just as all hope seems lost, Barrow arrives at the doorstep, driven by a newfound understanding that the Parkers may have succumbed to the most depraved of human impulses. Frank attempts to stall for time, his hand instinctively reaching for his pistol, while Iris leaps into the fray, shielding Barrow from harm. In a tragic twist of fate, Frank wounds his own daughter, and Barrow is left with no choice but to take drastic action, ending Frank’s reign of terror once and for all.

As Frank’s life force ebbs away, he manages to overpower Barrow, leaving him senseless. Panic sets in as Rose and Rory abandon the eerie house, seeking refuge with the unsuspecting Marge. However, Frank’s malevolent presence soon invades her home, culminating in his brutal slaughter of Marge. The sisters are then persuaded by their father’s twisted logic to rejoin him, returning to their own haunted abode. Upon their arrival, Frank continues to pressure Rose and Rory to partake in the gruesome ritual of consumption, which he insists is essential for their survival.

In a poignant moment, Frank’s cruel comment about Rose resembling her deceased mother prompts a feral response from the traumatized girl, who sinks her teeth into his neck. Iris joins forces with Rose, driving a brutal stiletto-like stab through Frank’s hand, and together they relentlessly attack their father until he meets his gruesome demise. As Frank’s life slips away, the girls notice that Barrow, still reeling from his earlier beating, has unwittingly borne witness to their horrific act of cannibalism. Rose takes a morbid measure of revenge by placing Barrow’s daughter’s stolen hair ornament on his chest, a chilling reminder of the atrocity he had witnessed.

As the sun rises over the desolate landscape, Rose and Rory bid farewell to the town they had once called home, taking with them a dark legacy that stretches back through their family’s troubled history. Rose clutches a treasured diary, within which lies the haunting recollections of her ancestors’ own experiences with cannibalism - a macabre testament to the unbreakable cycle of violence and despair that has haunted their kind for generations.