Bring Her Back
Anchored by a monumental Sally Hawkins performance, Bring Her Back bypasses the supernatural lore to give audiences the frights of their lives
Danny and Michael Philippou’s Bring Her Back is another imperative story of grief, a desperate plea for a lifeline out of the quicksand of bereavement. Like their disturbing debut Talk to Me, their second offering centres on loss, though playing with death is more than a party trick this time around. When their dad dies, step-siblings Piper (Sora Wong) and Andy (Billy Barratt) are shipped off to eager foster mum Laura (Sally Hawkins).
A former counsellor, she barely hides her own grief — her daughter Cathy, who was partially sighted like Piper, drowned years prior. Also staying with them is Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips), a mute kid whom Laura shelters from the outside world. While Piper settles in, Andy grows increasingly convinced that something is off with their new mum and her fixation on his younger sister. A viscous tale that traps you in a chokehold, Bring Her Back trades exposition for an unsteady descent into the depths of unadulterated sorrow. Wherever you sit on the grief spectrum, you’re in for an affecting, elating ride that will have you squirming in your seat.
Credit to Hawkins’ deranged performance, with the teen cast holding their own against her gigantic, unsettling presence. The film fully dispels the sophomore curse as the twin brothers comfortably master a paced narrative that’s a terror feast for the senses. The uncanny of domestic spaces and the impressive practical effects conjure up a visual nightmare, but the squelching, stomach-churning sound design ends up being even more distressing.
In a sea of legacy sequels and rehashed IP horror, Bring Her Back heralds a fresh era of scares that deserves the biggest of screens and the crispest sound system.
Released 1 Aug by Sony; certificate 18