‘Bring Her Back’ Movie Review: A Desperate Mother and Two Siblings Cope With Grief In An Underwhelming Revival Tale
Photo from A24
From Jeff Nelson
The supernatural-tinged psychological drama Bring Her Back is the sophomore outing of the Talk to Me duo, Danny and Michael Philippou. It’s less violent and substantially more introspective, focusing on the horrors that hurt people can unleash on the world. Unfortunately, we’ve seen this story play out before, and the few shots of skin-crawling body mutilation don’t make up for the lack of creativity.
Andy (Billy Barratt) and his sister, Piper (Sora Wong), move in with their new foster mother, Laura (Sally Hawkins), after their father’s frightening death in the shower. However, they soon discover she has terrifying plans that involve a ritual at her secluded home. Seedlings of doubt grow between them, but they must work together to survive the fate that awaits them.
es, another A24 horror movie about grief and trauma. There isn’t anything necessarily wrong with that, but this one doesn’t stand out from the crowd. The generic storytelling tropes are all there. Andy quickly notices something isn’t quite right about their new home, although he understands it’s only temporary until he’s of legal age, when he can gain custody of his sister. Piper is mostly blind, only able to see lights and shapes, but he’s fiercely overprotective, determined to shield her from the world’s horrors. Their father’s death shatters that veil, and Laura is the wedge that spiderwebs the crack in their bond.
The title Bring Her Back refers to the foster mother, who lives with a strange, mute boy named Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips) and is convinced she can bring her daughter, Cathy (Mischa Heywood), back to life after she tragically drowned. However, the prerequisites are no Pet Sematary. If nothing else, the Philippous succeed in their “show-don’t-tell” approach that never fully explains the entity and the rituals. They’re more interested in exploring grief and trauma than in supernatural elements that end up on the back burner.
Water typically symbolizes life, or perhaps sadness. The Philippous use it as a precursor for death and anguish. And there’s a lot of death to go around in this rural home. Talk to Me is most memorable for its singular face-destroying shocker, and Bring Her Back has its moment, as well. It’s admittedly less brutal, but the bodily mutilation disgusts nonetheless.
The emotional core is less effective. There are small, sentimental pockets in an otherwise overly familiar tale. Andy and Laura share an earnest discussion about coping with death while sitting back-to-back after a night of drinking. Piper is a plot device ping-ponged between her brother and foster parent, rather than feeling like her own character. Her thoughts and feelings are shrouded behind others, taking away her autonomy.
Hawkins brings depth to a distressed mother, weaving peaks and valleys that aren’t present in the writing. It’s easy to see this character as purely antagonistic, but she instills hints of empathy. Barratt similarly breathes life into this protective brother, who yearns to shape the best world possible for Piper. He impresses with his dramatic urgency – a performance that would have reached the stars with a better script.
Bring Her Back fails to scare or fully resonate emotionally, falling short of the thrills we know these filmmakers are capable of. It’s a reductive take on trauma and grief, especially compared to sharper recent psychological horror dramas that unpack these themes with greater nuance. The Philippous tap into a more personal place than they did with Talk to Me, but the slow, familiar build-up and predictable reveals make it feel more generic than haunting. The ending is rather affecting, and I can’t help but think how much better this would land if it found that arresting rhythm sooner. It isn’t a terrible sophomore effort, although it does feel underwhelming.
Rating: 2.5/5
Bring Her Back hits theaters on May 30th, 2025.
