Movie Review: Bring Her Back
Danny and Michael Philippou follow their 2023 surprise horror hit Talk to Me with Bring Her Back, a blood-curdling, twisted horror film that solidifies the Philippou brothers as some of the most horror directors working today.
Following the death of their father, Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) move in with Laura (Sally Hawkins), a seemingly nice and friendly woman who is also caring for Oliver (Jonah Wren Philips), a mute child who cannot be left alone. While everything seems normal at first, tensions between Andy and Laura begin to rise as weird happenings start to take place around their home.
Like Talk to Me, Bring Her Back is another horror movie about trauma, this time about parental trauma and the loss of a child and a parent. Trauma is a constant theme in horror, especially over the last few years, and some of the trauma-centric horror films do get redundant and boring. Luckily, that is not the case with Bring Her Back. It’s a gripping film from minute one because of how the Philippou’s keep the tension tight and the mystery interesting. I never once knew where the film was going or what was going to happen. When we enter Laura’s home, it feels like we are also being adopted by this woman and entering a new world. We learn the layout of the house and the surrounding woods, we get used to Laura’s eccentricities and habits, and we are confused and uncomfortable whenever Oliver is present. As the mystery is being revealed to us, along with the film’s title, we can pick up what we think Laura’s intentions are, but how she wants to accomplish them is original and horrifying.
The Philippou’s let the story of Bring Her Back play out and let the characters develop, allowing us to get to know them and understand the motivations of their actions. Bring Her Back isn’t a horror movie focused on scares and blood; it’s about how this small group of people is handling the trauma they are living with. But the directors also know exactly when to scare the hell out of us, whether it be a loud jump-scare, the reveal of something horrific, or a shocking scene of blood and gore. Several scenes had me squirming in my seat and had my theater in a tizzy, most notably a scene involving a kitchen knife and a scene involving a coffee table.
Hawkins’ performance perfectly symbolizes Bring Her Back. Hawkins is an actor whom I know for more sweet and endearing performances like Happy Go Lucky or The Shape of Water, but nothing like what she is asked to do here. I have never seen a Hawkins performance like this. As Laura, we meet her as nice and welcoming, being a little eccentric, but overall sweet to Andy and Piper. But there is a sadness and sickness deep inside of her that is slowly bubbling to the surface. It’s a stunning performance and shows that Hawkins can do just about anything. I also really liked the performances from all the kids, particularly Philips as Oliver. Though essentially a wordless performance, Philips gives one of the great creepy kid performances thanks to the great make-up work and the piercing way he stares through the characters and the camera. He is utterly terrifying and will haunt my dreams for years to come.
Talk to Me was a great introduction for the Philippou brothers, but Bring Her Back establishes them as great modern horror directors. Their storytelling is sharper, their characters are more complex, and the scares are more terrifying. Bring Her Back is one of the best movies I have seen so far in 2025 and one I will not be forgetting anytime soon.
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