DVD Review: We Monsters

If your child confessed to murder, would you turn her in or do whatever you could to protect her? It’s an intriguing question, and one that is at the heart of the compelling film We Monsters.

The film opens with Sarah (Janina Fautz) in the back seat of her father’s car, lost in thought. Paul (Mehdi Nebbou), her father, is a musician and asks Sarah if she likes the song that is playing, adding that he wrote it for her. She makes a brief, negative comment, and Paul lets it go. Soon Sarah informs him that they’re to pick up her friend Charlie, that she’s going to the camp too. Something is clearly going on between them, and Sarah is upset that Charlie is receiving text messages from a certain boy. “What kind of friend are you?” she asks. When Paul stops the car so that Sarah can pee, Charlie follows her into the woods. The camera stays with Paul, who is on the phone making plans for a little later that day. But it already feels like too much time has passed, and it’s unsettling. When Paul finally finds Sarah at the top of a dam, he asks where Charlie is, and Sarah simply looks down into the water. Paul is able to find Charlie’s backpack, but there is no sign of the girl.

The film then cuts to the parking lot of the police station, where Paul asks Sarah to come in with him to report the accident. That’s when Sarah tells him she can’t, that she pushed Charlie. After a brief pause, Paul tosses Charlie’s backpack in the trunk of the car. He insists it must have been an accident, but he is already back behind the wheel, so clearly he doesn’t believe his own hopeful assessment of the situation. Then there is a shot of him then standing outside the police station, holding the backpack, unsure what to do. It cuts to a great wide shot, and suddenly he turns and runs out of frame, and we hear the car start up. It’s a fantastic opening sequence and set-up.

After Charlie’s father shows up at Sarah’s house looking for his daughter, Sarah tells her mom, “Charlie is dead.” It’s not by way of confession or an attempt at bonding, but almost an act of defiance, a challenge. Relations are not good between Sarah and either of her parents. This event brings Paul and Sarah’s mother, Christine (Ulrike C. Tscharre), together, even though their relations are quite strained, to say the least. Both Paul and Christine are in new relationships, which are put at risk. And once things are set in motion, it seems everyone is unable to stop them. It’s an incredible film, at times tense and stunning.

I love the use of extreme wide shots in this film. They are used sparingly and effectively. Most of the time, the film has a rather intimate feel, keeping us close to the action, unable to escape ourselves. The film also boasts some phenomenal performances, especially by Medhi Nebbou as Paul, Ulrike C. Tsharre as Christine and Janina Fautz as Sarah.

We Monsters was directed by Sebastian Ko, and was released on DVD on June 7, 2016 through First Run Features. The film is presented in its original German, with English subtitles. The DVD contains no special features.