Are We Monsters is a British fantasy drama film released in 2022 by Seb Cox films.
After losing her mother in the woods, an inexperienced werewolf seeks guidance from a folklore enthusiast and a pair of hunters turned mentors. But with an upcoming blood moon, the stakes are high, and some will prove to be more supportive than others.
The movie can be watched for free on Plex
and Tubi.
Are We Monsters provides examples of:
- Alternate Identity Amnesia: Werewolves have their minds go into a dreamlike state (as Maya narrates, said dreams are more like nightmares) as their bodies mutate into grotesque un-lupine monsrosities that can only hunt and devour.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: After a werewolf hunt gone wrong in the beginning, Everett and Connor's father shoots himself before Maya can kill or turn him, his last words begging Everett to run.
- Bittersweet Ending: Sweet enough to almost be considered a Surprisingly Happy Ending. Everett is unable to convince Connor that Maya should be spared, thus to atone for contributing he lets himself and Connor get killed by the blood moon werewolf. On the other hand, Maya now accepts she is more than a monster and while Luke may have been turned into a werewolf himself now, it saved his life and he no longer has to fear dying, thus the two can now live happy together.
- Call a Pegasus a "Hippogriff": The only parts of a werewolf that can be considered "wolflike" are the fangs, claws, and glowing eyes. Otherwise they're hairless save a few strands on the head and mainly humanoid with disturbingly long necks, which, along with the fact they still turn during night hours and attack people, are more reminiscent of the Rokurokubi.
- Disney Death: Luke is shot and mortally wounded by Everett and Connor by the start of the climax. Then just as Maya in blood-moon-werewolf form attempts to leave the forest to terrorize the nearby town, Luke comes up alive and well for an "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight. Turns out he'd been turned into a werewolf himself just before he could die. The only reason he wasn't transformed by the blood moon is because now that he's immortal he no longer has to fear dying.
- Orifice Invasion: Connor's death. The blood moon werewolf uses its semi-corporeal form to enter him through the mouth so it can break every single one of his bones.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: They follow the classic full-moon transformation, Alternate Identity Amnesia, and Silver Bullet tropes, but the only lupine quality it gives them are the sharp fangs, claws, and glowing eyes. Their human forms are also invulnerable to non-silver wounds until a Blood Moon, where their werewolf form becomes a manifestation of their worst fears.
- Roger Rabbit Effect: Maya's blood-moon werewolf form in the climax is portrayed by incoherent animated scribbles amongst the live-action setting.
- Viral Transformation: As told in the story of how Maya's father died and what happens to Luke near the end, getting scratched by a werewolf will turn you into one. Unlike other examples, it is unspecified if a bite will do the same.
