We Are What We Are (2011) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Emma Parker died from a combination of Kuru disease and drowning. During the autopsy, Doctor Barrow discovered she was afflicted with Kuru, a degenerative neurological disorder linked to cannibalism. The disease caused her to bleed from the mouth and lose consciousness, leading her to fall into a rain-filled ditch where she drowned.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes hint at the family's dark traditions through the flashback sequences showing their ancestors' desperate survival tactics.

• emma parker death
• kuru disease
• drowning
• autopsy
• storm

Frank's attack on the stranded motorist marked his complete mental breakdown following his wife's death. Overwhelmed by grief and the burden of his family's secret, Frank succumbed to the primal instincts that had been passed down through generations. The film implies he gave into his dark impulses, viewing the stranded woman as a potential source of food.

Foreshadowing: This violent act foreshadows the family's history of cannibalism and shows how grief accelerates Frank's descent into madness.

• frank parker attack
• tire iron
• stranded motorist
• mental breakdown
• cannibalism

Frank kept a captive woman in his shed as part of the family's long-standing tradition of human consumption. This was not an isolated incident but rather a continuation of the ritualistic cannibalism practiced by their ancestors during the harsh pioneer winters. The family had been kidnapping and imprisoning women to kill and consume them.

Foreshadowing: The flashbacks to the pioneer era show the family making similar desperate choices, establishing this as an ongoing family tradition.

• captive woman
• shed
• imprisonment
• cannibal family
• ritual

Frank planned to poison his children with arsenic added to the soup because he believed it was a form of liberation from their cursed existence. Driven insane by grief and the weight of his family's dark heritage, Frank saw death as the only way to free his children from the cycle of cannibalism and the trauma it brought. He viewed it as a mercy rather than murder.

Foreshadowing: This act represents the culmination of Frank's mental deterioration, which had been building since Emma's death and his discovery that his daughters had consumed the captive.

• frank
• poison
• arsenic
• children
• attempted murder
• mercy killing

Kuru disease is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by consuming human brain tissue infected with prions. Doctor Barrow discovers Emma Parker had Kuru, which directly connects her death to the family's secret cannibalistic practices. This medical discovery serves as the key evidence linking the Parkers to the missing women and confirming the family's dark traditions.

Foreshadowing: The discovery of Kuru explains why the family has maintained their horrifying customs across generations despite the obvious danger.

• kuru disease
• prion disease
• cannibalism
• autopsy
• doctor barrow
• evidence

Frank killed Deputy Anders after discovering him in an intimate encounter with his daughter Iris. Enraged by this violation of his household and fearing exposure of his family's secrets, Frank attacked Anders with a tire iron, killing him. This act further demonstrated how Frank's mental state had deteriorated, as he now viewed everyone as a threat to his family's dark legacy.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show Anders investigating the family and Iris rebuffing his advances, building tension toward this violent confrontation.

• deputy anders
• frank parker
• iris
• killed
• murder
• exposed

Rose saved her siblings because she realized their father had poisoned the soup with arsenic. Despite the family's horrific traditions, Rose still possessed maternal instincts and moral reasoning that prevented her from allowing her brother Rory and sister Iris to die. She created a distraction to prevent them from eating, demonstrating her role as the family's protector.

Foreshadowing: Rose had been questioning the family's traditions throughout the film, showing her growing resistance to their dark way of life.

• rose
• poison
• soup
• arsenic
• save
• siblings
• rory
• iris

The Parker family's cannibalism originated during the harsh pioneer winters when food became scarce. The flashback sequences show their ancestors being forced to make desperate survival decisions, eventually leading to the ritualistic consumption of human flesh. This practice became a twisted tradition passed down through generations, with the family believing it was necessary for survival.

Foreshadowing: The cave flashback directly parallels the present-day events, showing how the tradition began and why it has continued.

• cannibalism
• pioneer
• tradition
• survival
• ancestors
• cave
• history

Doctor Barrow suspected the Parker family because his own daughter was among the missing teenage girls. During his investigation, he discovered a bone fragment in the creek near the Parker property, which supported his growing suspicions. His personal loss drove him to dig deeper into the family's activities, eventually confronting Frank directly.

Foreshadowing: The bone fragment discovery provides the crucial evidence that connects the Parkers to the missing women Barrow had been searching for.

• doctor barrow
• suspicion
• bone fragment
• missing daughter
• investigation
• sheriff meeks

The children turned against their father after Frank attempted to poison them with arsenic. Additionally, they had been forced to kill and consume the captive woman, witnessed their father's descent into violent madness, and learned the full horror of their family's traditions. When Barrow confronted Frank, the children saw an opportunity to escape and ultimately killed their father in self-defense while seeking freedom.

Foreshadowing: The gradual revelation of Frank's mental instability and the forced consumption of the captive had been building the children's resolve to rebel.

• children
• rebel
• frank
• father
• freedom
• escape
• patricide
• self defense

Iris was devastated by Deputy Anders' death, having developed genuine feelings for him. After Frank killed Anders, Iris became further isolated and controlled by her father. However, her heartbreak also hardened her resolve against Frank. She ultimately joined her siblings in rebelling against their father, using her emotional pain as motivation to end his tyranny.

Foreshadowing: The intimate scene between Iris and Anders earlier planted the seeds for this emotional arc, making her transformation more impactful.

• iris
• anders
• death
• heartbreak
• rebellion
• emotional transformation

Frank was unable to identify his wife's body because he was overwhelmed by grief and guilt. The emotional weight of knowing her death was connected to their family's dark secrets made it impossible for him to face the situation. He sent Rose and Iris instead, avoiding the sheriff's office while dealing with his complex emotions about Emma's death and what it revealed.

Foreshadowing: This moment establishes Frank's psychological fragility early in the film, setting up his later breakdown.

• frank
• identify body
• daughters
• rose
• iris
• emma
• grief
• guilt

After killing Frank, the children escaped with the help of their neighbor Marge. Rose took a diary containing their ancestors' cannibalistic memories, symbolizing their commitment to leave the dark past behind. The ending shows them embarking on a journey toward freedom, though their victory is bittersweet given the trauma they've endured and the horrors they witnessed.

Foreshadowing: The final scene represents the culmination of their struggle for liberation from the family's generational curse.

• children escape
• marge
• freedom
• diary
• new life
• aftermath
• bittersweet ending