We Need to Do Something

We Need to Do Something is a 2021 American psychological horror film directed by Sean King O'Grady and starring Sierra McCormick, Vinessa Shaw, Lisette Alexis, Pat Healy, and Ozzy Osbourne. Based on the novella of the same name,[2] the film centers on a family trapped in their bathroom during a tornado. The film was shot during the COVID-19 pandemic and is the first film production from Spin a Black Yarn Productions, with its co-founders Josh Malerman and Ryan Lewis serving as producers.[3][4]

We Need to Do Something
An enlarged image of a human eye under red light.
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySean King O'Grady
Written byMax Booth III
Based onWe Need to Do Something
by Max Booth III
Produced by
  • Peter Block
  • Max Booth III
  • Colin Duerr
  • Lauren Hantz
  • Ryan Lewis
  • Josh Malerman
  • Bill Stertz
Starring
CinematographyJean-Philippe Bernier
Edited byShane Patrick Ford
Music byDavid Chapdelaine
Production
companies
  • Atlas Industries
  • Spin a Black Yarn
IFC Nightmare
Distributed byIFC Films
Release dates
  • June 2021 (2021-06) (Tribeca)
  • September 3, 2021 (2021-09-03) (United States)
CountryUnited States
Box office$13,589[1]

We Need to Do Something had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2021,[5][6] and was theatrically released by IFC Films on September 3, 2021.[7] The film polarized critics upon release, who praised the film's characters, use of jump-scares, and McCormick's performance, however criticized its failure to "capture the actual psychological awfulness of being trapped too near your nearest and dearest, with no end in sight".[8]

Premise

During a tornado, Melissa, a young teenager and her parents, Robert and Diane and her brother, Bobby, go in the bathroom.

A tree crashes through the house, blocking the door so the family cannot get out. The family encounter a snake and tensions rise as the family awaits help. The alcoholic Robert becomes irate as he suffers withdrawals.

A dog appears just outside the door and as the children pet it, it proclaims itself a "good boy" and bites Melissa, who rips its tongue out by the root and slams the door.

Flashbacks throughout show Melissa has a girlfriend, Amy, and the pair are bullied. At Amy's insistence they cast a spell on their tormentor Joe that requires Melissa dig up their deceased dog's body in the backyard and retrieve its tongue. Joe dies and Amy has Melissa perform a second ritual because Amy thinks the spell messed up because she has something inside her.

Bobby is bitten by the returning snake and rescuers enter the house unseen but have a gun fight with a monster. Bobby succumbs to the snake bite and dies. Melissa explains how she and Amy caused the supernatural events of the night with a failed spell.

Robert, who is delirious from withdrawal and sucking on alcoholic wipes all night, says they must eat Bobby's corpse and gets Melissa's phone and obeys an indistinctly voiced caller who commands he kill both women. Melissa kills him after he attacks.

Diane manages to make an escape path in the wall and exits. Melissa wakes up alone and has a vision of Amy attacking her as Diane returns covered in blood. The pair cower as something crashes in the bathroom and they both scream.

After the credits Satanic laughter erupts.

Cast

Production

The film is based on a novella of the same name written by Max Booth III, who adapted his own work into a screenplay; the success of Booth's 2020 novel Touch the Night, published by Cemetery Dance, helped draw attention to the project.[2] Although the novella and screenplay were completed prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, director Sean King O'Grady found resonance in the story with America's response to the pandemic, saying "Without directly addressing the nightmare we are currently living through, Max created a hellish allegory that still manages to capture the collective trauma we’re all experiencing."[4]

The film was shot entirely on a soundstage in Michigan owned by production company Atlas Industries over the course of four weeks between September and October 2020; production took place in secret, with no announcements about cast or crew until filming had already wrapped. Owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, extra precautions had to be taken, including a minimal number of crewmembers.[4]

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 56% based on 59 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "While We Need to Do Something can feel as unfocused as its title, it offers eerily timely genre chills, soaked in claustrophobic dread."[9]

Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting gave the film a score of 2.5/5, writing that it "asks its audience to use their imagination for much of the horrors that barrage its characters, as its story is told solely within the confines of a single room", but stated that it "isn't interested in offering any definitive answers, only suggesting mere possibilities."[10] Jessica Kiang of Variety said that the film "fails to capture the actual psychological awfulness of being trapped to near your nearest and dearest, with no end in sight", and added: "When, late in the film, a phone's "Puttin' on the Ritz" ringtone sounds out, it's hard to escape the suspicion we've been Rickrolled."[8]

Amidst the mixed reception, McCormick's performance was lauded, with some critics deeming it a highlight of the film. Weekly magazine Chicago Reader described the actress as "captivating",[11] and IGN praised her take on the character, stating that she "brings wide eyes and a sulking snarl to teen daughter Melissa, whose internal drama is signaled by a goth wardrobe topped by a bubblegum pink wig."[12]

References
  1. "We Need to Do Something (2021)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  2. Martinez, Kiko. "San Antonio author Max Booth III has a novella turned into a forthcoming horror film". San Antonio Current. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  3. Vlessing, Etan (October 29, 2020). "Sierra McCormick, Vinessa Shaw, Pat Healy Star in 'We Need to Do Something' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  4. Miska, Brad (October 29, 2020). "'We Need to Do Something' Brings the Horror on a Family Sheltered in a Storm". Bloody Disgusting.
  5. Rubin, Rebecca (April 20, 2021). "Tribeca Film Festival Unveils 2021 Lineup". Variety. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  6. Hipes, Patrick (April 20, 2021). "Tribeca Film Festival Unveils Main Lineup For June Event". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  7. "Film and TV Projects Going Into Production – We Need to Do Something". Variety Insight. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  8. Kiang, Jessica (June 16, 2021). "'We Need To Do Something' Review: A Single-Room Horror That Could Use More Air". Variety. Retrieved August 14, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "We Need to Do Something". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 2, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. Navarro, Meagan (June 15, 2021). "[Tribeca Review] Single-Location Horror 'We Need to Do Something' Stretches Imagination and Plausibility". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 14, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. James, Becca (August 31, 2021). "We Need to Do Something". Chicago Reader. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  12. "We Need to Do Something Review". IGN Southeast Asia. September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
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