We Are the Flesh

We Are the Flesh (original Spanish title: Tenemos la carne) is a 2016 horror film co-produced by Mexico and France, written and directed by Emiliano Rocha Minter. It first screened on 2 February 2016 at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and saw a limited U.S. release in January 2017.

In the story, an unspecified apocalypse has left the world in ruins, forcing siblings Lucio and Fauna to scavenge for food and shelter. They encounter Mariano, who offers them both necessities on one condition: they must help him transform an abandoned building into a cave-like or cocoon-like space. He also insists that the siblings have sex with each other while he watches and masturbates. With few alternatives, they agree, and this act becomes the first of many bizarre and horrifying tasks they must perform to stay alive.

The cast includes Noé Hernández as Mariano, María Evoli as Fauna, Diego Gamaliel as Lucio, and Gabino Rodríguez as Soldado mexicano.

During production, Minter initially sought real siblings for the roles of Fauna and Lucio, even considering casting Gamaliel’s actual sister. He ultimately abandoned this plan and hired Evoli instead.

The film features non-simulated sex, including a masturbation scene that shows the act to climax.

Critical response was largely favorable. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 74% approval rating from 46 reviews, with an average score of 6.20/10. The site’s consensus describes it as “visually striking and aggressively confrontational,” adding that it may be as hard to watch as it is to forget. Metacritic gives it a score of 62 from 10 reviews, indicating “generally favorable” reception. *The Guardian* awarded it two and three stars; one critic compared it to Jorge Michel Grau’s *We Are What We Are* but noted it lacked that film’s satirical edge. *Variety* observed that viewer reactions would vary widely, calling the film an “extreme Mexican fiesta of incest, cannibalism and explicit sex” likely to earn both detractors and fans. Horror outlets *Fangoria* and *Bloody Disgusting* praised it, with the latter highlighting its camerawork, color, sound, and acting, while acknowledging that some viewers “will certainly be offended, and others frustrated.” *Dread Central* gave a mixed review, stating that this is the kind of visceral, boundary-pushing cinema that mainstream audiences will never accept, and may even be challenging fo