Review: Bring Her Back – Back to back horror

Directed by Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou 
Starring Sally Hawkins, Sora Wong, Billy Barrett 

8/10

Talk to Me made a stir through the world of horror, launching Danny and Michael Philippou’s feature directorial careers. A pithy horror dealing with ghostly possession and unresolved grief, the film showcased the brothers’ strong visual styling, tense atmosphere, and ability to explore the emotional core of their characters. Their follow-up work, Bring Her Back, deals with different characters and horrors but delves into similar emotional waters as their debut, with even better results.

Still dealing with the death of their father, Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) struggle to settle in with their new foster home. Although Laura (Sally Hawkins) fawns over Piper due to the similarities to her own dead daughter, Andy finds it difficult to bond with the enigmatic carer. However, is it merely ghosts of his own past, or something more sinister? Perhaps something born of the strange ritual that Laura watches from a grainy VHS tape late at night?

There’s a consistent internal logic running through Bring Her Back: the complex ritual, the character motivation, the background world-building, and the plot. It provides solid groundwork that allows the performances and the visuals to shine. Once again, the Philippou brothers delve into grief as a motivation but this time deal with it from multiple angles, allowing it to be dissected as both a driving force and a barrier.

With that strong foundation, it allows two stellar performances from Sally Hawkins and Billy Barratt. Both are pitted against each other as they struggle over Sora Wong, both with mixed motivations and a heartbreaking backstory. Both play their cards close to the chest. Hawkins is enigmatic. One moment caring and kind, the next abrasive and manipulative. Barratt is traumatised and broken but protective of his sister. They circle around each other, clashing as they try and sound the other one out. Yet both are compassionate and human in their actions, while at the same time radiating an aura of danger.

Hence Bring Her Back is given room to build its supernatural mystery while focusing on the psychological tension. When the gore does come (and it assuredly does), it is shocking. Make no mistake, despite its slow burn, Bring Her Back is certainly a horror film, and one with a bit of a mean and dark heart. Paradoxically, because it’s so compassionate and caring about its characters, they’re not merely disposable; hence, the horror is so much more impactful.

The result is an exceptional piece of Australian horror that treats the genre with respect and thoughtfulness. Bring Her Back is a bloody supernatural thriller with genuine emotional stakes and a frighteningly good second film from Danny and Michael Philippou.

DAVID O’CONNELL