Let’s just say the Philippou brothers are about to commit highway robbery on A24’s budgeting department for the foreseeable future. The sophomore feature film of the former YouTube celebs, Bring Her Back, lands the guys a heavy two-for-two after their directorial debut.
Bring Her Back: A Triumphant Follow-Up From Philippou Brothers
As cute and carefree as these guys are in conversation, we’d never believe the trauma Danny and Michael Philippou were about to drum up with their grief-soaked house party, Talk To Me. Representing the new generation of horror, much of the film’s praise circled around their ability to add an accurate adolescence to the low vibrational theme of loss.
Their playfulness as a duo hasn’t budged, but the twins’ newest project swaps out any source of teenage nostalgia for an extra helping of domestic dread.
It’s “feel bad “o’clock”, alright. Bring Her Back sits at the stoop of the disturbing side of extreme cinema, similar to Red Rooms or Speak No Evil (2022)– just add a gallon of the bloody stuff.
Sora Wong and Billy Barratt Shine as Siblings in Bring Her Back
The film follows Andy and Piper, siblings who are quickly placed into nightmare foster care after the sudden death of their only parent. It’s felt instantly that the innocence of these characters is about to be challenged in ways the viewer might not be ready for. The bond between Sora Wong as Piper, and Billy Barratt as her brother, Andy, is tangible. The audience will feel how the series of events stretches and disrupts their chemistry from its origin, through its conflict, to the lasting impact of its third act.
Piper is the younger sister. She’s visually impaired, and a victim of bullying at school. Billy is almost 18, and after years of abuse, prioritizes protecting his step-sister from the household horrors that come with adolescence. The desolation is boosted with Sally Hawkins in the role of Laura; the kids’ new foster parent. Personally, I’m thankful Hawkins retired from her career of serving comfort charisma in the Paddington series for something complex and dangerous.
Her newest role is a little relatable… and likable for a little? All around it’s demented. Laura’s fallen into immense emptiness after losing her daughter, but found a seemingly reasonable solution in providing care for kids in need, like her current foster child, Oliver. At least that’s what her alibi tells us.
Weaponizing Empathy in a Horror Movie
The amount of humanity all over this is disturbing. Care is a theme, but it’s really a gag that anyone with an ounce of empathy is subject to trip over. The facade of a safe space lets in the manipulation. The only “what if?” comes from the ability to accept a stranger’s care in a time of struggle. The Philippou’s are wicked to use our human empathy against us.
Sora Wong’s debut performance carries a lot of hope to Piper, which is basically the viewer’s lifeline. Her visual impairment makes little impact on the situation, especially because she has all of the characteristics of a role that horror fans typically hold on to, especially with the weight of this context. Hopefully the young actor finds a taste for horror in her career moving forward.
Practical Effects and Body Horror Steal the Show
The physical horrors I witnessed are some of the worst things you can do to an audience. I honestly wish y’all luck getting this stuff out of your head (complimentary). The first foster child, Oliver, puts all the current creepy children in horror to bed. As strange as Laura gets, he is the conduit of the supernatural element. Jonah Wren Phillips nailing the classic “creepy kid” thing makes him the perfect subject for Philippou’s display of practical effects. The body horror sequences are traumatizing; they last forever, and you’ll hear twice as much as you see, but they’re worth every cent spent in production. These moments make for excellent theater experiences, but I also understand if you’d rather watch at home and sob a little too.
Simply put, Bring Her Back weighs a thousand tons. Somehow, it’s able to complement massive amounts of grief with the kind of practical and emotional depravity you rarely see in a wide release. We are so far from the gateway, folks, so take your trigger warnings seriously.
