Bring Her Back Review: Danny and Michael Philippou’s Follow-Up is a Disturbingly Tense Psychological Horror of Grief and Trauma
Here’s the thing about Danny and Michael Philippou: their much-anticipated sophomore feature, Bring Her Back, proves that the Australian directing duo are no fluke after they scored big time in Talk to Me. Like the latter, the duo continues their exploration of grief and trauma, and they hammer these themes right from the earlier scene: Andy (Billy Barratt) and his younger, visually impaired half-sister Piper (Sora Wong) discover their father dead on the shower floor in a freak accident.
Now, all they have left is each other, and while Andy wanted to take up the responsibility to become Piper’s legal guardian, he has yet to reach the minimum required age of eighteen to do so. The social worker-in-charge of the case initially wanted to split them up before agreeing to Andy’s request after he refused to give up and insisted on staying with Piper until he was old enough to apply for custody.
The half-siblings are soon placed in the care of Laura (Sally Hawkins). The latter used to be a social worker herself, who lives with her foster son, Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips). Sporting a shaved look, Oliver doesn’t talk and is often seen wandering around the house, including the drained pool, looking strange and lost. Laura also has a biological daughter once but tragically died after an accidental drowning, and till today, she is still grieving over her death.
At first, everything seems fine, but the Philippou twins maintain a foreboding sense of dread that slowly creeps up on you as the movie progresses. It gets increasingly unnerving with recurring VHS footage of satanic ritual and the fact that Oliver’s odd behaviour has something to do with it. Not to mention Laura’s erratic personality, from being genuinely caring as a foster mother to acting peculiar on numerous occasions.
No doubt that Sally Hawkins anchors the movie with her emotionally equivocal performance, and once the movie gradually reveals her character’s ulterior motives, it’s hard not to feel deeply disturbed by her actions. The Philippous also delve into the themes of abuse, desperation, and even gaslighting that establishes how far a grief-stricken foster mother like Laura can become. This isn’t the same Sally Hawkins that (most) of us have grown accustomed to seeing the actress as the lovely Mrs Brown in the first two Paddington films.
While Hawkins steals the show in Bring Her Back, the Philippous equally bring out the best in the rest of the actors, including Billy Barratt and Sora Wong, where the latter actually marks her acting debut. And get this: she had no prior experience whatsoever when she was first cast in the movie, and like her character, she was born with limited sight in real life. This helps bring a genuine sense of authenticity to her visually impaired character facing the terrifying ordeal, and a non-actor like Sora Wong, she truly stands out on her own, while sharing a strong sister-brother dynamic with Barratt’s Andy.
Like Talk to Me, the Philippous doesn’t shy away from the visceral shocks that made full use of grisly, yet squirm-inducing, practical effects and makeup. At one point, there’s a scene that made me flinch and let’s just say it has to do with a kitchen knife. The unrelenting violence and gore keep on coming as they get progressively intense in the mean-spirited second half, and the Philippous pull off without resorting to an over-the-top outcome.
Despite the underlying downer of its subject matter, Bring Her Back manages to strike a right balance between addressing both emotional and psychological impact related to loss and adversity with the Philippous’ knack for incorporating vigorous horror elements and dread-inducing atmosphere through evocative sound design and cinematography.
