{type}=
{year}=2025
{episode}=1h 44m
{quality}=HD
HD
1h 44m
Score: 7.2 / 10 rated
Horror, Mystery
Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou
Australia
May 30, 2025
Movie Review
If you’ve been following my reviews for a while, you know I’m a big fan of A24, a production company that’s been involved in a lot of “outside the box” low-budget, original films. I’ve loved almost all of them. In 2023, they helped Youtubers Danny and Michael Phillippou A.K.A RackaRacka with their directorial debut and the surprisingly addictive horror film TALK TO ME. It was my favorite horror film of the year. They’re back with another horror film called BRING HER BACK. It tells the story of two stepdaughters, blind Piper (Sora Wong) and her brother Andy (Billy Barratt). After being orphaned, they go to live with their grieving adoptive mother, Laura (Sally Hawkins). She also has a son named Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips). Andy, Piper’s protector, finds that everything seems to be falling apart. I love this movie. It’s a slow burn that draws you in, expertly building tension and anxiety along the way. It has familiar horror themes like grief and trauma, but it’s done in a unique way. Like TALK TO ME, the violence is disturbing and unforgettable, with great visual effects. A word of warning, it’s made all the more disturbing because it involves child abuse. Every single performance here is amazing. All four of them! This is Sora Wong’s first performance. What’s even more impressive is that Sora herself is blind. In some scenes, the film puts you in her shoes, heightening the suspense and making me want to jump into the screen and help her. Hawkins has a lot to do in this one. She’s happy, gentle, and terrifying. This film has a believable character that you really care about. It’s about how grief can fundamentally change a person. The scariest scenes of the film are the actual violence that happens on the ground, unlike most horror films. It doesn’t hold back, and it doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares. The film gives you enough puzzles to piece it together. It could have explained a few things better, but some people might enjoy making up their own theories. It’s not unsettling in the best possible way. Great horror films like TALK TO ME and BRING HER BACK have a way of staying with you beyond the theater. They’re not your typical Hollywood horror, and they’re incredibly effective. No one does it quite as well as A24. Despite a questionable plot choice near the end, I enjoyed this one more than Talk to Me. I will always praise the original project. BRING HER BACK is a dark film with some scary scenes that aren’t for the faint of heart, but I like what the Phillippou brothers are doing, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.
