We Are the Flesh

Emiliano Rocha Minter’s We Are the Flesh is strange, inventive and perverse, introducing a new kind of experimental horror to the landscape of current Mexican cinema. Shot almost exclusively in a foul apartment in which the characters gradually entomb themselves, it is an exploration of deviant sexuality, gleeful violence and the effects of extreme isolation. We join an unnamed man who exists in crazed solitude in a crumbling flat. He receives food from an unknown source outside, and spends his time in demented repetitive activities, such as staring into space, or striking an old drum while screaming.

His peace, if one could call it that, is eventually disturbed by a teenage brother and sister, who claim that this is the only remaining building for miles around. He gruffly welcomes the homeless pair into his hovel and feeds them raw egg. The next day, he puts them to work, building a strange papier-mache cave in his living room. However, there is a terrifying method to this madness. Before long, the man’s demonic charisma takes hold of the siblings, and he is able to coerce them into incestuous sexual acts to which they willingly submit. Within the stark confines of the apartment, the trio’s depravity grows, depicted in strange colour filters, thermal imaging, hallucinatory sequences and a harrowing sound design.

What this ultimately creates is a strange experiment in the extremes to which a director may push their actors and audience. The film alternates between silent, dreamlike sequences and scenes of unfathomable disgust and violence. One is almost permanently unsettled, either suffering through the horror on screen or waiting for more to come. Garnering rave reviews from festivals and horror fans, We Are the Flesh is difficult to watch but destined to become a feared cult hit. The extreme solitude of the characters has forced them to come face to face with their darkest thoughts and fantasies. Minter forces us to come face to face with ours.

Isabelle Milton

We Are the Flesh is released nationwide on 18^th November 2016.

Watch the trailer for We Are the Flesh here: