After the breakout summer horror hit Talk to Me in 2023, I was fully on board for whatever the YouTuber-turned-filmmaker brother duo, the Philippou Brothers, would do next. Rather than following up with another adrenaline-fueled, emotionally-charged horror ride exploring addiction and grief, they took a sharp left turn. Staying within the genre, they’ve returned with what may be one of the bleakest, most disturbing, and unrelentingly dark horror film of the decade.
We follow Andy (Billy Barratt) and his younger, visually impaired sister, Piper (Soro Wong) as they navigate the harsh realities of the Australian foster system following the death of their father. Haunted by guilt and trauma, Andy is consumed by the fear of being separated from Piper and clings to the hope of gaining custody once he turns 18. Piper, meanwhile, remains unaware of the full weight of her brother’s emotional burden. Their lives take a turn when they’re placed with Laura (Sally Hawkins) and her mute son, Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips). What begins as a seemingly kind and comforting home, at least for Piper, slowly unravels into an occult nightmare, as it becomes clear Laura’s intentions are far more sinister than they first appeared.
Let me just say it up front: Bring Her Back is not going to be for everyone. This isn’t a horror film that relies on cheap jump scares to get a reaction out of you. It’s a slow-burn descent that crawls under your skin, unsettling you with a cocktail of occult dread, gnawing melancholy, and some truly grotesque body horror. This isn’t the kind of horror you can just numb yourself to because nothing is more terrifying than reality. And while Laura may come across as warm and motherly at first, there’s something undeniably off about her kindness. That nurturing presence becomes a weapon, one that only the internet’s favorite mother, Sally Hawkins, could wield so chillingly.
Fueled by grief and simmering rage, she seizes every opportunity to gaslight Andy about his past and begins manipulating Piper through relentless love bombing. Bit by bit, she drives a wedge between the siblings, all in the service of one goal: bringing her daughter back from the dead. Her grief is all-consuming, a black hole of sorrow and obsession that justifies any means which includes the sacrifice of innocent children. It’s a grief so warped and desperate, yet disturbingly believable, because deep down, many parents would give anything, do anything, just to see their child again.
Driven more by mood and theme than by plot, the Philippou Brothers have crafted a horror film that plunges deep into the emotional wreckage grief can leave behind. Yet somehow, they avoid falling into the “elevated horror” label that’s been attached to so many A24 releases over the last decade. Sure, the narrative has its shaky moments, but that doesn’t make it any less terrifying. The sound design is cranked to eleven as every bone crunch and every blood drop lands with a visceral jolt. With this film, the Philippou Brothers continue to sharpen their directorial voice, pushing their grotesque and haunting visual style to even more unsettling extremes.
Overall, Bring Her Back cements the Philippou Brothers as a rising powerhouse in modern horror. While the narrative may stumble at times, they command the atmosphere of dread and visual storytelling is undeniable. This is not a film for the faint of heart. Its bleakness and deeply unsettling imagery won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. But for those drawn to horror that challenges, disturbs, and dares to go somewhere new, Bring Her Back is a bold, visceral experience and well worth the price of admission.
My Rating: B
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