Bring Her Back (Spoiler Free Review)

The Philippou Brothers, famed for their horrifically brutal take on teen-supernatural-horror, 'Talk to Me' (2022), return to screens with the sinister 'Bring Her Back'. This new occult-themed, frenzied madness, follows the adolescent Andy (Billy Barratt) and his younger sister Piper (Sora Wong), who, after discovering their father dead, moves to their new foster home where they meet their new guardian, the seemingly lovely Laura (Sally Hawkins), who also fosters the oddly quiet Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips). Any chance of the siblings moving past their trauma is soon derailed as it is slowly revealed that there is something deeply, disastrously wrong with their bubbly foster mother.

Bring Her Back emulates a pressure cooker where every scene raises the temperature and stakes right until the very end, unleashing a bursting explosion where all the tension and secrets ooze into a devastatingly gruesome finale, unleashing the true actions and intentions of Laura. The effectiveness of Bring Her Back hinges on the strength of the performances, with the film introducing one of Hawkins best performances yet, as the actress flawlessly bares a Jekyll and Hyde persona; successfully portraying horror cinemas' most frightening and emotionally real malevolent forces in a long while. 

Just as, if not equally impressive at stealing the screen was Barratt, who takes on the role of a guilt-ridden, emotionally scarred and terrified teenager with the world on his shoulders with an eerie excellence, taking stride and proving that his acting chops are destined for an exciting future. An honourable mention is essential for the brilliant Wong, who adds such integrity, with an air of necessary innocence, brilliance and off-kilter comedic timing to an intense role.

It can be assured that like many, it was astonishing to learn that this was her first ever role, not even a short commercial to the young actress's name! Hawkins, Barratt and Wong form a talented triptych that shows the ugly side of profound grief, the messy reality of abandonment and the harsh truth of desperate souls. 

Owing success to the actors excellent renderings of the human condition is Bring Her Back's boundary crushing storyline that manages to continually hint at what on earth is going on and gradually explain the strange happenings, all the whilst remaining tight-lipped on just how nihilistic and disturbed the film really is. From the get-go, it is clear that Bring Her Back aims to disconcert and, more importantly, startle, with some truly gross imagery that will churn the stomachs of many viewers.

Adding to this is the diegetic gore sounds that hideously encapsulates the horror on-screen with great detail, amping the immersion factor and producing a series of audible 'ewws' and 'eeks' from movie-goers. In line with the brilliant foley sound work is the scoring that bodes an unsettling, rhythmic tension from the very beginning, emulating a presence of evil that is always lingering in the background, subtle but present.  

In Bring Her Back, the tone is reminiscent of the disquieting nature seen in the likes of Lars von Trier's works, along with a twist of Ari Aster's surreal atmospheric features and Mike Flanagan's emphasis on character-first features. The film's relentless ode to plaguing the minds of its viewer is a testament to the film's soon-to-be cemented reputation in horror as being one of 2025's best features that sears its powerful ethos deep onto the cinematic scene. 

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