Bring Her Back (2025)


Danny and Michael Philippou appeared on the scene in 2022 with Talk to Me, an original supernatural story that gained a bit of critical acclaim.  For their sophomore effort they were able to get a recognizable supporting actress with Sally Hawkins and, if anything, eclipse what they did before.  

Step siblings Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) are sent to a foster home run by Laura (Hawkins) after their father (Stephen Phillips) dies suddenly.  Piper is blind to the point where she can only see light and shapes, so at first she appears to be a good fit for Laura as her late daughter Cathy (Mischa Heywood) was blind as well.  From the start, however, Laura doesn't take to Andy, as she was hoping to foster Piper on her own.  However, Andy is just shy of his 18th birthday and is hoping to take over Piper's guardianship when the time comes.

At first Laura seems like the cool mom, but soon she begins behaving erratically and doing what she can to drive a wedge between Andy and Piper.  She is also fostering a strange, mute boy named Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips) whom she pays quite a bit of attention to.  It turns out the reason is that she believes that Oliver is the key to helping her bring Cathy back to life, with Piper also being an important part of her plan. 

Sora Wong had no real acting experience but is great in this.  It is frustrating how everyone gaslights her, whether for her own good or their own gain.  It is unique to see a victim that is not aware they are a victim.  This also has a few surprises up its sleeve, a number of scenes that are truly disturbing and they have come up with an interesting idea on how to facilitate resurrection.  The Philippous know how to make a quality, well-acted horror film, and Bring Her Back is effective in doing what it wants to do.

The problem is that the core story has been done so often and there isn't much effort made in changing it.  It's the usual of a relative dying and someone, lost in grief, going to extremes to bring them back.  It is the basis for many mad scientist films such as Eyes Without a Face, a movie that Bring Her Back borrows a number of beats from.  

For a movie as well-made as this, and with such strong performances and characters that one actually cares about, it is sad to see it be so predictable.  It doesn't ruin the film but does dull the impact.

Bring Her Back (2025)
Time: 104 minutes
Starring: Billy Barratt, Sally Hawkins, Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Phillips
Directors: Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou

 

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