Bring Her Back review

BRING HER BACK: 

UNHINGED SALLY HAWKINS IN STELLAR SOPHOMORE HORROR FILM FROM DANNY AND MICHAEL PHILIPPOU! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

A24

Sally Hawkins in Bring Her Back

 

            Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky, Paddington 1 and 2, The Shape of Water) shows the darker, more sinister side of her Mrs. Brown character from Paddington in Bring Her Back, the latest horror movie from A24 and YouTubers turned directors Danny and Michael Philippou (Talk to Me). I’ve been very impressed with what Danny and Michael Philippou have accomplished, they started off making comedic YouTube videos under their channel, RackaRacka(Many of which featured an exaggerated depiction of Ronald McDonald among other characters) and their first feature film directing effort was the phenomenal horror movie, Talk to Me which was one of my favorite films of 2023. 

            It was very much like when Jordan Peele who at the time was mostly known for comedy and Key & Peeleventured into horror with his directorial debut, Get Out in 2017. So, after being blown away by Talk to Me, I was looking forward to seeing what their next film was going to be like which brings us to Bring Her Back and holy shit! 
            I’m not sure yet which film I prefer between this and Talk to Me, but this movie is wild and like their previous film, completely subverted my expectations when it comes to horror. I doubt it will make a cultural impact like Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, but this is easily the second best horror movie released in 2025 so far. 

            The film follows step-siblings, Andy (Billy Barratt-Responsible Child, Invasion, Kraven the Hunter) and the visually impaired, Piper (Newcomer, Sora Wong who is also partially blind in real life) who after the death of their father are sent to the secluded home of their new foster mother, Laura (Hawkins). However, they soon discover they are actually caught in the middle of a terrifying ritual to bring Laura’s deceased daughter back to life. 

            Overall, Bring Her Back adds another chilling and unnerving horror film to Danny and Michael Philippou’s growing filmography with a brilliantly unhinged Sally Hawkins performance to boot. This might actually be my favorite performance of Hawkins as she does a phenomenal job flipflopping between being sweet and caring to full-on psychopath, the more I watch her the more it makes sense for Mrs. Brown to suddenly transform into Emily Mortimer in Paddington in Peru, but I digress. 

            Bottom line, she is magnificent and easily one of my favorite horror movie female performances in recent years. Billy Barratt is also a standout as the older brother, I’m not super familiar with his other work, but Barratt adds a lot of emotional weight as this guilt-ridden and traumatized teenage boy trying to protect his step-sister and you legit feel for him all throughout the film. 

            While the movie is technically horror and has moments of gory and grotesque imagery, it’s more along the lines of psychological thriller and mystery with a supernatural element. Whether it’s through grainy, video footage of the ritual that Sally Hawkins’ character is watching on the TV, Billy Barratt’s character flashing back to his father’s death by mysterious causes, camera work and cinematography, or very subtle details in certain scenes, it keeps you on your toes wondering where the film is going. 

            It’s a great counterbalance to when the movie gets gory and disgusting… seriously, this movie gets pretty nasty as it goes on with very shocking and unsettling moments. I even had verbal reactions in the theater as I was watching it and legitimately felt a little squeamish and that’s no small feat. 

            The movie does revolve around supernatural events, but ironically the real horror of the film comes from not accepting grief and moving past it. The psychological and emotional effects it has on Billy Barratt’s character is the stuff of nightmares and much of it is very frightening. 

            Where Talk to Me was a fun horror movie, this is more of a somber, slow-burn, and psychological look at emotional grief and the horrific consequences that come from not moving on from it that just happens to involve a ritual. It’ll probably be very interesting to hear what people think of this movie when they came in expecting something along the lines of Talk to Me. 

            Bring Her Back once again proves that Danny and Michael Philippou are a powerful force of nature in the independent horror genre as they crafted a truly disturbing, thought-provoking, and tension-filled horror movie about the effects of grief that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I eagerly await what this directing duo will do next.