Bring Her Back

BRING HER BACK, the second film from DANNY and MICHAEL PHILIPPOU, was released elsewhere back in May this year, but for some reason only hit screens here in the UK this week. Was it worth the wait? 100%. I thought this was an excellent, smart, and nicely self-contained horror that surpassed the Philippou’s startling debut feature, 2023’s TALK TO ME.

A brother and sister uncover a terrifying ritual at the secluded home of their new foster mother.

I’ve made no secret of the fact I’m suffering from ‘saga exhaustion’. I’m increasingly tired of sequels, threequels, prequels, remakes and reboots. I’m not saying I won’t watch any follow-up movies, I’m just finding that I’m enjoying snappy, one-off stories more than anything else right now. In that respect, BRING HER BACK absolutely hit the mark for me.

It shares quite a few stylistic and thematic similarities with TALK TO ME (and after what I just said about franchises, and before anybody contacts me to point it out, I’m aware that the Philippous’ have a sequel – TALK 2 ME – in development, and that they’ve spoken about both films – which were written at the same time – having no obvious connection but taking place in the same universe). Both TALK TO ME and BRING HER BACK are extremely well written and directed. They’re not overly reliant on jump scares and other tropes, but they are heavy on atmosphere, and both imbue stories about spirits, death, and demonic possession with a sense of uncomfortable plausibility and a rough realism. Another common feature is that both films contain moments of intense mouth- and face-based gore which are startling and vivid but which just manage to stay on the right side of gratuitous. I challenge you not to squirm.

BRING HER BACK benefits from a trio of really strong performances. SALLY HAWKINS is superb as Laura, the nauseatingly friendly foster mother to orphaned siblings Piper (SORA WONG) and her older brother Andy (BILLY BARRATT). Along with JONAH WREN PHILLIPS – who has to be applauded for his performance as mute foster child Oliver – the focus on a relatively small core cast is integral to the success of the film. As usual, this is a recommendation and not a review, so I don’t want to give anything away. Suffice to say, BRING HER BACK is an excellent example of a story that’s rooted in the fantastic, but which gives those fantastic elements enough of a basis in the characters’ individual realities so that we fully buy into them. It’s interesting that the character of Piper is blind, because much of the story is about keeping things hidden and locked away. We the audience are fully aware of Laura’s nefarious intentions and the motives behind them from the outset, and we can only look on helpless as she manipulates Piper and Andy who remain totally unaware.

This is a great film. Gruesome, stylish and smart. I recommend you try and catch it if you haven’t already.