BRING HER BACK, the second feature from Australian brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, proves the duo has what it takes to take their place among the best horror genre creators, and the best part is that they’re just getting started. I have written and rewritten this review a few times already, and on a rare occasion, I’m at a loss for how to convey exactly what I want without spoiling anything. Perhaps it’s as simple as this: Both this and the brothers’ debut TALK TO ME find unique ways to explore grief from the loss of a family member. TALK TO ME’s way is with intense horror, while BRING HER BACK is more nuanced, yet still quite unsettling.
TALK TO ME was my favorite film of 2023, and it wasn’t even close. When I got the opportunity to see their new movie, I was nervously excited. What if it wasn’t as good? What if these guys were just a flash in the pan? I am SO happy to report that I had absolutely nothing to worry about. BRING HER BACK is a very different sort of film, but the underlying tone of grief and loss is still there. In the earlier pic, the audience was shown the desperate lengths a child will go to be comforted by their dead parent one more time. Here, we’re presented with the point of view of both children and parents who have lost their loved ones.
I lost my mom in late 2021, so I was very drawn to the earlier film’s character Mia, who is also grieving the passing of her mom. Mia spends her time with her friends going to parties to connect with the “other side”. While she’s trying to fill her time with fun so she doesn’t basque in sorrow, step-siblings Andy (Billy Barratt) and blind Piper (Sora Wong) in GET HER BACK are forced to confront their despair when they lose everything and are placed in the Australian foster system. When I lost my dad many years before my mom’s passing, I was at least able to stay at home with my mother in a familiar place surrounded by loved ones. Andy and Piper only have each other, and as teens, they’re vulnerable to exploitation.
I know the Philippou brothers were big on YouTube before they started making feature films. From some internet research, I learned that their parents separated when they were young, but they seemingly had happy childhoods. I can’t help but wonder if something happened to Danny and Michael that inspired both BRING HER BACK and their debut film. It feels very personal, and there were several times throughout the film that I wondered if the story was a metaphor about sexual abuse.
In an extraordinary debut, actress Wong, who is visually impaired in real life, brings an incredible naivety to Piper, a young teenager who has had her safe home life ripped away from her. Sally Hawkins as Laura, Andy & Piper’s foster mom, expertly sways between caretaker and manipulator.
TALK TO ME never shied away from being gruesome. The anguish that Mia and other characters felt played out in front of our eyes as addiction and death. BRING HER BACK has a lot of that same type of gore, but what’s causing it is far more mysterious. Everything unseen is where the true horror lies.
BRING HER BACK is currently playing exclusively in theatres.
