Bring Her Back is A24's latest installment and the newest addition to the Philippou brother's filmography. Talk to Me was Danny and Michael Philippou's debut film that came out in 2023. Bring Her Back is their sophomore movie and it far outshines Talk to Me.
Talk to Me was an extremely popular movie at the time and threw the Philippou brothers into the spotlight. The story follows Mia grieving the loss of her mother after her unusual death. At a party Mia is introduced to an embalmed hand that allows you to speak to the dead. Mia becomes obsessed with talking to her mother and finding out if her death really was a suicide. Talk to Me is similar to Bring Her Back in the themes of grief but also exploring this through demonic possession.
Bring Her Back follows Andy and Piper who lost their father and were put into the foster care system. The two of them meet their foster parent Laura (Sally Hawkins) and her foster son, Oliver. Laura and Oliver have a very strange relationship as Oliver is mute but Laura keeps him locked up and separate from everyone else. Laura is wrestling with her own grief after losing her daughter Cathy and she is willing to do anything to bring her back.
This movie like many other horror movies is an extreme example of what grief can push a person to do. Other movies that center around grief include, The Babadook, Hereditary, Pet Sematary, and Talk to Me. These horror movies highlight grief in its most depraved and desperate from. Bring Her Back tackles the theme without shoving the symbolism down your throat. Laura, Andy, and Piper have all lost a loved one, but Laura is willing to go to great lengths to bring Cathy back.
I think Bring Her Back is an exceptional movie, not only for the themes of grief but also for the really unsettling moments. Oliver who is played by Jonah Wren Phillips did an amazing job and really sold the creepy possessed child who is detached from his previous life. His acting really made the movie along with Sally Hawkins but also Billy Barratt (Andy) and Sora Wong (Piper). I found myself caring for these characters and thought them to be quite complex but also relatable. I actually had tears in my eyes for the depressing ending, I have never cried at a horror movie before but this actually got me.
I have to praise the gore in this movie as well. There were some scenes that had me gasping in horror and cringing in my seat. I've seen a lot of gory movies but something about Bring Her Back unsettled me to my core. The Philippou brothers don't shy away from the grotesque and leave it all on the screen to disturb the audience. Every gory moment felt very intentional, not to be gory just for the sake of it.
I can't recommend this movie enough. This movie makes you feel scared, disturbed, sad, and just plain uncomfortable. If you're a fan of Talk to Me then Bring Her Back will be right up your alley. I think Bring Her Back blows Talk to Me out of the water in every single way. I can't wait to see what the Philippou brothers do next, especially for the sequel ofTalk to Me.
Bring Her Back is now playing in theaters.