Movie Review: Bring Her Back

By John Corrado

Bring Her Back is the unnerving sophomore feature from Australian brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, who began their career as YouTubers (under the pseudonym RackaRacka), before branching out and getting noticed with their A24-backed directorial debut Talk to Me.

The same studio, A24, is behind their latest effort as well, which finds them working with a bigger budget and on a larger canvas than their 2023 horror film. If Talk to Me was the breakout movie that opened many doors for them, Bring Her Back is the ambitious, relentless follow up that allows them to build on that promise.

For example, the added credibility now afforded to them allows the twin brothers to work with Oscar-nominated actress Sally Hawkins, whose gripping performance here serves as the main selling point. Hawkins plays Laura, who becomes the foster parent to step-siblings Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) when their father suddenly dies.

Piper is visually impaired, and shares a close bond with her stepbrother, who plans to apply for legal guardianship when he turns eighteen in a few months. But in the meantime, they are put into the foster system, and sent to live with Laura. Things are “off” from the time they first arrive at her rural home, and are greeted by both her dead dog who has since been stuffed, and their new “brother” Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips), a mute boy with an unnerving appearance who struggles to properly communicate what is plaguing him.

The Philippou Brothers have crafted a horror movie that is designed to get under our skin and stay there. The film shares some commonalities with Talk to Me, including similar themes of grief and disturbed kids. But they also up the ante in an even more unsettling way, including more taboo-breaking scenes of children in peril. The violence here is visceral and gruesome. The filmmakers deliver several genuinely disturbing scenes, entering our psyche by hinting at satanic rituals and occult connections. There’s also the very creepy use of grainy, VHS footage that opens the film and plays a role throughout.

The filmmakers intentionally keep a few things vague and don’t explain everything at first, leaving us to sort of figure it out alongside the siblings, which adds to the eery, unsettling feel that underpins the film. Sure, you could pick at minor plot points that don’t quite add up. If Talk to Me felt economical and became a breakout hit thanks to its basic hook and easily marketable party game premise, Bring Her Back attempts to do a lot more, and it can occasionally feel like too much. But the film is very effective at building a sense of dread, and enveloping us in its near-oppressive atmosphere.

A lot of this is also due to the off-kilter nature of Laura as a character. The film is built around an absolutely deranged performance from Hawkins, who is saccharine and caring one moment, and completely unhinged the next. We are used to seeing Hawkins play quirky characters, and the film capitalizes on that perception to completely flip it on its head. This is the polar opposite of her breakout role in Happy-Go-Lucky, for example, and allows Hawkins to practically reinvent herself.

Hawkins also brings an eery believability to her portrayal, with the film built around the disturbing but not implausible idea that someone like her could actually trick social services into thinking she is a nurturing caregiver. Laura is clearly insane, but somehow only Andy can see it, which makes her a natural villain for a story about children trying to escape a bad situation.

On that note, the film’s young leads impressively hold their own against Hawkins. Barratt shows the bravado of a masculine teenager being stripped away as he becomes terrified. Wong, who is visually impaired in real life, finds that balance between headstrong and vulnerable. The young Phillips is also compelling in a gruelling, unflinching performance.

The Philippou Brothers once again show a sense of craft in how they build this world, from Aaron McLisky’s cinematography, to the use of rain and running water, the unsettling sound effects, and moments of shocking gore. But the main attraction is their willingness to absolutely pummel us with a sense of dread, and offer no real reprieve. It’s a horror movie that wants us to feel bad, and for genre fans willing to go along for the brutal, unrelenting ride that should be a selling point.