Not that there was going to be any serious doubt about their ability to avoid a sophomore slump with their second go-around as filmmakers, but brothers Danny and Michael Philippou have easily cemented themselves as modern day horror auteurs with the highly disturbing Bring Her Back, a bleak, discomforting genre feature that makes their debut, Talk To Me, look practically like child’s play in comparison.
From the opening seconds of Bring Her Back‘s 100 minutes, the brothers create an unsettling atmosphere, with grainy images lifted from VHS pressings of a cult of sorts; a seeming naked, lifeless body solidifies the dread that lingers across every frame. It’s because the film has started in such a manner that audiences are rarely given a moment of levity to catch themselves, and it’s why that when brother and sister pair, Andy (Billy Barratt) and the visually impaired Piper (Sora Wong), are sent off to a foster home in the wake of the death of their father we hardly feel an air of relief.
Whilst it’s evident how much of a unified pair Andy and Piper are, the script – penned by Danny and Talk To Me co-scribe Bill Hinzman – clues us in on a fracture that once divided them, and it’s such a reveal and its psychological implications that their new foster carer, Laura (Sally Hawkins, terrifyingly sublime), uses to her wicked advantage as she manipulates them, seemingly targeting Piper in a wholesome fashion that hides a more sinister intent. The way she interacts with Andy is the polar opposite, and though we can see through her gaslighting mentality, the siblings are practically helpless within the confines of her eerie home.
Just why Laura has an immediate connection to Piper stems from the loss of her own daughter, Cathy, whose death haunts Laura to no end. There’s something to be said about Bring Her Back‘s commentary on how far someone will go to save a loved one, and though Laura’s actions – which brutally escalate as the film continues – aren’t forgivable, there’s an odd sense of understanding in her violent decisions. What’s more prevalent are the themes of trauma and grief, the suggestion of generational lacerations, and the acceptance of truth in spite of its extreme ramifications.
And on the mention of content and its extremities, as to be expected from the directors of such a film as Talk To Me and the shocking acts that were housed within, Bring Her Back delights in its deliberate manifestation of fear and the wince-inducing graphicality that sprouts from such. The anxiety the film creates heightens any of its violent content, but there’s a series of sequences involving self-mutilation, torn flesh and a set of teeth that is sure to test even the hardest stomached genre viewers; Jonah Wren Phillips as another of Laura’s foster children, Owen, often at the centre of Bring Her Back‘s more unsettling moments.
Enhanced by immersive sound design, somber cinematography and enthralling performances, Bring Her Back offers up a differing telling of possession. Danny and Michael have proved they’re no flash in the pan following Talk To Me, delivering a haunting, bleak tale of grief that stands as a testament to their prowess as storytellers. The feel-bad movie of the year.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Bring Her Back is screening in Australian theatres from May 29th, 2025, before opening in the United States on May 30th.
