#REVIEW: “BRING HER BACK’

Review by Nicholas Porteous for Mr. Will Wong

Danny and Michael Philippou burst onto the Horror scene with their feature debut Talk to Me in 2022, a cult hit that yielded a sequel deal almost immediately. The premise was arguably the star of the show: a severed hand that possesses its victims–y’know, nothing too crazy–except the horrifying appendage is relentlessly exploited for viral internet fame by a group of obnoxious Aussie teens! What made Talk to Me truly a cut above your standard high-concept success was its remarkably grounded writing and performances, especially for what could have easily been some fun schlock. Talk to Me is more of an ensemble psychodrama than the idea on paper would suggest. Sophie Wilde absolutely deserved recognition for her dual embodiment of a series of demonic spirits in one moment and a struggling adolescent the next, navigating a messy world of bullies and frenemies. This week, the Philippous return with Bring Her Back. Their deft ability to build engrossing, three-dimensional ensembles is just as impressive. Unfortunately, their ability to wield a bonkers premise is sorely lacking this time around.

Allow me to gush about Sally Hawkins for a minute: she gives the performance of the year so far, by a mile. Laura–a foster-mother to our tragically displaced protagonists Andy and Cathy–is ostensibly the villain of Bring Her Back. On her face, she’s a deceitful, annoying, boundaryless hypocrite–and something far worse just underneath. But in the hands of Hawkins, she’s also the single most rootable character on-screen. In fact, she’s almost too fascinating and strangely likable, eclipsing the supposed leads. No shade on Billy Barratt, Mischa Heywood and Jonah Wren Phillips–all great in their own right as her traumatized foster children. I could easily imagine Laura as an exasperating mustache twirler, but Hawkins transforms her into a rich, tragic figure. Despite any misgivings I have about Bring Her Back, this is a profound piece of acting–so great, it redeems the whole Movie.

Bring Her Back is almost as much a mystery as it is a Horror. There’s no snappy elevator pitch from the Philippous this time. It’s a jigsaw of an idea, with only the pieces of some unholy resurrection visible from the jump. Heck, without the bold title I’d dare say even that core theme would feel ambiguous for the first act or so. It could simply be a movie about an insidious, abusive stepmom. The slow, simmering reveal of what exactly Laura‘s up to is arguably more immersive than the straightforward fireworks of Talk to Me. I really enjoyed that gradual ramp into the supernatural–with the implicit sense that every weird thing I was seeing would lead somewhere. But by the time we hit the home stretch–even with the aid of a laughably direct, narrated video that Laura plays for our benefit–there are still far more questions than answers around the conceit of Bring Her Back. By the end, I was genuinely not sure if the Philippous themselves knew what was going on. And not in a fun, haunting, enigmatic way. In a red herring ‘what was going on with all these threads’–‘JJ Abrams Star Wars mystery box with nothing inside’-kind of way.

I’m 100% locked in for Talk 2 Me, if only because I need to witness whatever Horror ensemble the Philippous manage to conjure next. Whether Bring Her Back can be written off as an unwieldy Screenplay that got away from them, or if Talk to Me was the real outlier for its brilliant story–I’ll just have to wait and see.

Elevation Pictures release BRING HER BACK May 30, 2025.