We Are Monsters

Okay, this isn't going to be a gem but for me it did still offer some nasty moments. The story is rather simple, girl being kidnapped and raped, she escapes somehow and is out for revenge. I was surprised that the rating was so low.

If you want to see a typical Hollywood blockbuster forget it because it shows that it was a low budget flick. It take a while before things go wrong and it's only once the girl is out for revenge that it becomes a brutal flick and people could get offended by some torturing done by her. Clocking in under 90 minutes makes it worth the trip to see it. As said before, there are moments that will make you grab the remote but the effects are really well done which makes it a delight for the geeks of nasty brutal revenge flicks.

Gore 1,5/5 Nudity 1/5 Effects 2,5/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

After a successful business meeting, a woman is kidnapped and held hostage by a psychopathic killer and his henchman who begin to systematically beat her down and have their way with her, forcing her to resort to extreme measures to get away live.

Overall, this was a solid and serviceable effort. The fact that this one manages to get to the point immediately here with the abduction and eventual arrival at their lair happens quickly in this one. That turns the intensity up within the film as the dirty, bloodsoaked environment they begin to humiliate and torture her in that signals the kind of appropriate behavior which can be quite intense at times with the perverse sexual torture and degradation designed to beat her down. The escape attempts and times she fights back setup the final half where this picks up considerably with the brutality stakes featuring a depraved and brutal brawl around the house before getting to the main confrontation which is graphic, gruesome and designed to bring everything that's happened to a satisfying resolution. These here give this one a lot to like that holds this one up. There are some problems here. The main issue here is the unnecessarily humanizing attempts done on the lead villain here when those scenes don't matter much. There's no sense in him having a wife and son unaware of what's doing when they're never shown on-screen, all we end up getting is a single voice-call and all they end up doing is causing a break in between the torture showing how they find out who she is which is also a missed opportunity using that as motivation to kidnap her. The other minor flaw is the wrong-headed tone to the finale where this one tries to make her retribution feel cathartic in a sense yet comes off more as gratuitous violence. Since nothing she does is in any way an eye-for-an-eye mentality for what happened to her as theirs was sexual while she goes for straightforward brutality, there's an off imbalance to this section but it's not that big of a deal.

Rated Unrated/R: Extreme Graphic Language, Extreme Graphic Violence, Nudity and several rape scenes.

While I had indeed never even heard about the 2015 horror movie "We Are Monsters", which was oddly enough titled "Animalistic" on the version I stumbled upon, of course I opted to watch the movie, given my love of all things horror.

The storyline in the movie was not particularly exciting, thrilling or scary. In fact, the narrative was ruined by some pretty lousy acting performances from the leading actress. I can't claim to say that writers Sonny Laguna, David Liljeblad and Tommy Wiklund managed to concoct a narrative, script and storyline that entertained me in any grandiose way. There was nothing new brought to the subgenre of female revenge movies here.

I was not familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. Some of the acting performances were good, while others were just hands down terrible. Especially the leading actress, she managed to ruin the movie with her less than believable performance.

Watchable, sure, if you are a newcomer to the horror genre. But for a 40+ years of watching horror movies veteran such as myself, then "We Are Monsters" was a mere walk in the park on a sunny day, and there wasn't really anything scary to be seen anywhere.

My rating of directors Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund's 2015 horror movie "We Are Monsters" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

The gore I liked. We all can appreciate a good Thriller, and this one wasn't bad except for the lead actress acting. Her struggle expressions, were a struggle, which also looked like her scared expressions along with her hard breathing as if she's having a asthma attack. Everyone else did a great/good job, except for Emma and the female tycoon in the restaurant, they killed my vibe. UPDATE: 12/21/2023 Forgot I saw this movie 3 years ago and watched it again by accident. Came to the reviews to see if anyone else was pissed or discussed about Hana Oldenburg (Emma)'s non-acting skills. Saw this review header, and pressed on it to read, and bam, it's mine. Lol... Ralf Beck (Jim) killed it, he was on a whole different, Empire State Building top floor level, EVERYONE ELSE was also on a different level, while Emma basement level acting ruined it for me again, with her 3 facial expressions. I really hope Hanna got some much needed acting skills, cause this isn't it.

The story isn't very original nor does it expand upon the subgenre, but it does explore the subject matter with a push toward brutal, visceral, unease which tests the viewer's tolerance level toward revenge horror that plays in torture-porn lanes. The whole subgenre is hard to watch even the ones worthwhile, "Animalistic" takes you to the bitter edge of ability.

The acting is intense, acceptable performances that sell the cruelty set upon the protagonist, as well as that which show the assailants as disgusting members of humanities worst. It isn't stellar, but enough to bring a very dark and disturbing story to life. It does bare mentioning that at times the acting is shaky and some moments feel too redundant.

The effects are impressive. Gory scenes of horror and blood stained settings are good enough to make you gag at the grittiness on screen. The practical elements work well and when the killing goes to the good during the revenge portion of the movie, it works well! Plus the cringe worthy atmosphere and anxiety enduring score help pull you into the nightmare.

Overall, "Animalistic" lacks originality and creativity. However what you get is a purist, straightforward exploration of set expectations done good enough to satisfy most fans of the subgenre. All others with no taste or interest in this style of exploitation should stay away. But if you wanna check it out I say go for it!