FILM REVIEW: Bring Her Back (2025)

Bring Her Back - New Release Review

Director: Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou

Starring: Sally Hawkins, Billy Barratt, Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Philips, Mischa Heywood

Written by: Danny Philippou, Bill Hinzman

Produced by: Kristina Ceyton, Samantha Jennings

Cinematography by: Aaron McLisky

Original Score by: Cornel Wilczek

Synopsis:

A brother and sister uncover a terrifying ritual at the secluded home of their new foster mother.

Thoughts:

The Philippou brothers return with yet another unforgettable, grotesquely compelling supernatural horror film proving that they aren't just one hit wonders.

'Bring Her Back' is a very different animal to the brothers' debut feature film 'Talk To Me'. It maintains some of the supernatural, demonic elements and visceral violence involving kids but this one is infinitely more bleak with some devastatingly harrowing moments all revolving around the cold and heartless feeling of grief. What lengths would you go to speak to a lost loved one again?

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Billy Barratt and Sora Wong play step-siblings Andy and Piper, who become orphans after they find their Dad dead in the shower. They are then sent to stay with their new foster Mum Laura (Sally Hawkins) and her foster son Ollie (Jonah Wren Philips). Laura is a former counsellor and trusted foster parent who has also recently been plagued by loss. Her daughter Cathy drowned in the family pool.

Both kids are fighting their own internal battles, outside of recently losing a parent. Andy has a troubled background and is prone to violent outbursts while Piper, who is partially sighted, is having issues making friends at school. After welcoming them into her home, Laura notices their vulnerabilities and tries to put any teething issues to bed quickly, in her own eccentric way.

But soon Andy begins to notice that Laura has a little bit more going on than eccentricity. Maybe she has something dark boiling underneath her kindness. Something dangerous. Something evil.

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There's a reason Sally Hawkins is a multi-time Academy Award nominee. She is an absolute titan here. Both softly maternal and fiercely unsettling in equal measures. It's impossible not to be drawn in by her character as the film progresses and her story unfolds before our eyes. A layered and unhinged performance. But Billy Barratt is almost her equal in certain scenes. He's introverted with a quiet rage and vehemently protective over his little sister, one of the qualities that lights the spark that burns everything to the ground. Sora Wong is also incredible considering this is her first ever acting job but the lasting images from the film will be the sad and sinister face of Jonah Wren Philips who plays Ollie. He's the poster boy of the picture and there's a few of his sequences that are almost unwatchable. The make up and prosthetics used in the film are savage. Really disgusting to look at.

The pacing of the film is perfect. The slow build up is spliced with raw camcorder footage of some sort of demonic ritual and when the penny begins to drop there's no big exposition explaining the reveal. There's enough said for us to put the pieces together ourselves and the finale is truly chilling. Utter heart wrenching desperation in it's wildest and most evil form.

The look of the film mimics the tone. It rains alot in the film and there's some beautiful shots captured during the torrential downfalls. The rain sort of haunts the characters and theres a torment to the way the film looks and feels. 'Talk To Me' introduced the former Youtuber brothers to the world but with 'Bring Her Back' Danny and Michael Philippou have cemented themselves as two of the most exciting voices in modern horror.

Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

-Gavin Logan

'Bring Her Back' is released in UK cinemas on July 26th