Based on the novella by Max Booth III, We Need to do Something straddles the line between sci-fi horror drama and single situational survival thriller, telling the horrific ordeal of a family who find themselves trapped after a tornado. Set within the confines of their bathroom, the group discover that their exit is blocked by a fallen tree. Stuck and unable to find a way out, the family of four do their best to survive. But with the constant threats of snake attack and an unseen-but-heard strangeness taking over the world outside, their chances of survival look bleak.
As single singuational thrillers go, We Need to do Something has some interesting ideas. Rather than stick with just one or two threats or problems, our family is put through ordeal, after ordeal, after ordeal. The ever-increasing stakes keep the narrative from stagnating, although it does induce some disconnect from the viewer. With so much working against the family, it’s hard to fully suspend disbelief and buy into the scenario. The family’s bad luck isn’t quite as severe as the hapless soul trapped in Thai film, The Pool, but it does teeter on the precipice of silly on more than one occasion.
What keeps We Need to do Something aloft are the performances. Sienna McCormick, Vinessa Shaw, Pat Healy, and John James Cronin, all look (the likeness between Healy and Cronin is almost uncanny) and feel like a family unit. The story jumps immediately into the aftermath of the storm and the group are instantly at odds with one another in the way that only family can be. These typical familial irritations slowly transition into something darker, with dangerous secrets exposed and cataclysmic outcomes. Each actor brings their A-game to the table. Healy is especially good as the paternal figurehead Robert, a character whose descent into instability begins early and ventures into some horrifically bleak areas. One sequence involving Robert and his young son is brutal in its execution and will have you stealing glances away from the screen in case you become the unwilling witness to unspeakable horrors.
The intensity and claustrophobic nature of We Need to do Something has a new resonance in a post-Covid world, as we all remember how it was to be kept contained with our nearest and dearest. In the wake of our last year, imagining a situation such as this isn’t too hard to do, and works as a way into the characters. Some of their decisions seem rather extreme, but thankfully the film never fully jumps the shark. The first feature length work of fiction from filmmaker Sean King O’Grady, We Need to do Something is packed with plenty of drama, tension, and suspense to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat. Having also produced the brilliant Dinner in America, released earlier in the year, O’Grady is having a great 2021.
We Need to Do Something
Summary
An intense watch that will have you on the edge of your seat, We Need to Do Something is a well-made, though not fully rounded, addition to the ever-present single situational horror sub-genre.
We Need to do Something was reviewed at Celluloid Screams. We Need to do Something arrives on digital 25 October from Blue Finch Film Releasing.
