Review: ‘Bring Her Back’ doesn’t need you to jump when it can make you recoil

Death is traditionally marked by rituals. While they sometimes claim to help the deceased in the afterlife, they’re more typically designed to help the living cope with their loss. However, there’s also a superstitious world that believes they can commune with the dead and, in more extreme situations, revive them. But time and again, cinema shows us attempting to reverse death never produces the desired results, trading sacrifices for disappointment. The lesson: bereavement is a process and shortcuts only lead to trouble. In Bring Her Back, orphaned siblings must try to survive their new foster home and eccentric caretaker.

When Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper’s (Sora Wong) father die, he’s just a few months shy of turning 18 and being old enough to request legal guardianship of his partially sighted younger sister. Andy is used to caring for Piper and the pair refuse to be separated when being assigned to foster care. Laura (Sally Hawkins) was hesitant to take in a teenage boy, but she couldn’t deny giving a home to Piper following the death of her own visually impaired daughter. She’s also caring for Ollie (Jonah Wren Phillips), an even younger boy with aggressive tendencies. Laura seems committed to giving Piper a good home, but she makes odd requests of Andy and tensions between the pair escalate until Piper doesn’t know who to trust.

This movie shares a lot of traits with twin filmmakers, Danny and Michael Philippou’s, feature directorial debut, Talk to Me. Beyond staying in the horror genre, this is also an unconventional possession story that opens with some very troubling imagery. At the centre are individuals experiencing grief, particularly young people who have lost a parent. The main characters are also siblings in both narratives. However, where the first film kept viewers on the edge of their seats with constant action and frequent scary developments, this picture is a slow burn.

Things are only subtly strange at first, which makes it easy to disregard or attribute it to Laura’s quirky personality. The build up to the climax is intentionally slow, only giving viewers glimpses of the evil that lurks within the house. But as the situation becomes gradually more uncomfortable, the audience’s concern for the kids grows. Piper is so vulnerable and easily swayed, she’s literally and figuratively blind to the warning signs. Meanwhile, Andy is walking on eggshells to avoid being rejected, but he can only overlook so much before needing to act. Then there’s Ollie’s unusual behaviour, which is an immediate red flag that’s violently waving by the movie’s end.

While the gist of the film’s plot is clear, there are several unanswered questions raised throughout the picture that may leave viewers feeling perplexed. The inspiration for Laura’s ritual, for example, is eventually defined in its application, but its origins are a vexing mystery that may never be solved. However, the script is filled with the unexpected, which compensates for some of the annoyances. The rest are offset by the great performances.

Hawkins is perfectly suited to the peculiar maternal figure who can appear both caring and terrorizing in the same breath. Barratt and newcomer Wong’s sibling bond seems genuine and their use of a code word that requires they tell each other the truth is heartening. But for such a young actor, Phillips exceeds in his role as the creepy kid and completely owns some of the picture’s most unsettling scenes.

After the success of their first film, the Australian brothers once again reimagine a horror standard, but this time moviegoers will find themselves more disturbed than scared.

Directors: Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou
Starring: Billy Barratt, Sally Hawkins and Jonah Wren Phillips