BRING HER BACK: Grim, Gruesome and Great

BRING HER BACK (Blu-ray)

2025 / 104 min

A24 Films

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

As I get older, I tend to base my horror choices on who’s directing them, rather than a killer trailer, plot synopsis or who happens to be in the cast. Trust me, 50+ years of watching a genre where the bad ones far outnumber the good ones can do that to you. 

But in general, horror is in a good place right now, with quite a few directors committed to creating smart, atmospheric films that either offer something we haven’t seen before, or at least put a unique spin on a familiar premise. Jordan Peele, Robert Eggers, Zach Cregger and Ari Aster are directors whose movies I’m totally on-board for without even knowing what they’re about. In fact, I prefer go into them cold. 

After catching Bring Her Back, I’m probably adding sibling directors Danny and Michael Philippou to that list. Their first film, 2022’s Talk to Me, was a wonderfully twisted surprise, which did slightly elevate my expectations for this one. Though maybe just a tad less narratively cohesive, Bring Her Back is another brutal banger of a horror film.

Luckily, I was able to check this one out completely cold as well, so for the sake of those reading this who are similarly unaware, I’ll refrain from going into much detail about the premise or plot. But like Talk to Me, this one centers around a couple of siblings, 17-year-old Andy (Billy Barratt) and functionally-blind younger sister Piper (Sora Wong). After their father suddenly dies, they’re placed in the care of Laura (Sally Hawkins), a former counselor whose own daughter died from drowning. Also living there is a selectively-mute young boy, Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips), who lurks around the house wearing nothing but a swimsuit.

Guess who just gave her cat a bath.

Right from the get-go, we sense something’s not quite right about Laura, even though she doesn’t initially say or do anything particularly sinister. However, Hawkins’ note-perfect performance immediately has us on-edge. Most of the story takes place in and around Laura’s house, but to reveal much beyond that would spoil the fun. The narrative unfolds at a deliberate pace and never spoonfeeds the audience with details or exposition that ultimately don’t matter. 

What does matter is the forboding tone, complex characters and increasing sense of dread, and for anyone who assumes the somewhat ominous title suggests a movie akin to Pet Sematary, you’ve got no idea what’s in store for you. Bring Her Back is relentlessly downbeat and grim, punctuated by shocking bursts of violence and gore that’ll have some viewers squirming. At the same time, it's often emotionally affecting and thought provoking.

Only near the end do a few minor cracks appear, perhaps exacerbated by the Philippous trying a little too hard to juggle psychological and supernatural horror elements (one could argue that they should've chosen one or the other). Still, Bring Her Back is an atmospheric, compellingly dark ride, boosted by a perceptive writing (especially regarding the characters) and excellent performances. These two directors are definitely on a roll.

EXTRA KIBBLES

COMING FULL CIRCLE: MAKING BRING HER BACK - 20-minute featurette with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. I suspect Danny and Michael Philippou are pretty fun to tip a few back with.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By Danny and Michael Philippou.

SIX BEHIND-THE-SCENES POSTCARDS - A24 seems to be doing this with most of their releases. A nice touch.