Ted Geoghegan’s 2015 directorial debut, We Are Still Here, stands out as one of the most effective modern homages to 1970s and 1980s Euro-horror. Set against a bleak, snow-covered New England landscape in the late 1970s, the film begins as a somber, slow-burning haunted house tale before erupting into an unhinged, blood-soaked spectacle of supernatural carnage.
The Premise: Grief in a Cold Climate
The story follows Anne (Barbara Crampton) and Paul Sacchetti (Andrew Sensenig), a middle-aged couple shattered by the recent death of their adult son, Bobby. Hoping to start fresh, they relocate to a secluded rural home in Aylesbury, Rhode Island.
Anne immediately senses a spiritual presence and convinces herself it is Bobby lingering nearby. To investigate, she invites their bohemian, occult-inclined friends May and Jacob Lewis (played by horror stalwarts Lisa Marie and Larry Fessenden). However, the entity lurking in the cellar is far older, angrier, and deadlier than the spirit of their lost son.
Cinematic Influences: The Fulci Touch
Rather than following the glossy, jump-scare formula typical of 2010s studio horror (such as The Conjuring universe), Geoghegan drew heavily from Italian maestro Lucio Fulci—specifically The House by the Cemetery (1981) and The Beyond (1981).
- Tone and Texture: Cinematographer Karim Hussain uses a muted, naturalistic color palette, deliberate pacing, and period-accurate zooms to evoke a genuine late-1970s aesthetic.
- The Antagonists: The house’s former occupants, the Dagmar family, were 19th-century undertakers who turned the basement into a furnace for human bodies. Their ghosts are not misty apparitions; they appear as smoldering, charred figures resembling living embers, trailing smoke and radiating lethal heat.
- Practical Effects: The climax rejects CGI in favor of tactile, hyper-violent practical effects featuring exploding heads, crushed skulls, and gallons of deep crimson gore.
Folk Horror and Town Secrets
Beyond its ghost-story tropes, We Are Still Here weaves in elements of New England folk horror reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft (Aylesbury is a direct nod to Lovecraft’s fictional Massachusetts town).
| Element | Narrative Role |
|---|---|
| The Sacchettis | Unwitting sacrifices lured to appease an ancient force |
| The Dagmar Family | Original caretakers betrayed and burned alive by the townspeople |
| The Townsfolk | A sinister cabal, led by Dave McCabe (Monte Markham), maintaining a grim pact |
| The House | A conduit demanding a fresh sacrifice every thirty years to keep evil buried |
Cast and Legacy
The film acts as an affectionate showcase for indie horror royalty:
- Barbara Crampton anchors the film’s emotional center, bringing grounded realism to Anne’s grief before facing madness.
- Larry Fessenden delivers an electric performance as Jacob, shifting effortlessly between comedic stoner-hippie charm and terrifying trance possession.
- Monte Markham adds an icy, bureaucratic menace as the town’s de facto patriarch.
Clocking in at a lean 84 minutes, We Are Still Here avoids bloated exposition. It treats its characters’ grief with gravity while delivering the visceral, unapologetic payoff that practical-effects horror fans revere, solidifying its reputation as a standout modern cult classic.
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