Never Ending Movie Carnival
Never Ending Movie Carnival
Bring Her Back review: The tragic horror gets under your skin!
‘Bring Her Back’ - The Aussie horror films are just another level and league – having watched them over the last twenty years, I can say that the way in which they combine unsettling human emotions with horror and creeps is unparalleled. And when a production house like A24 backs your project, you can be certain to get boggled by a great cinematic experience.
Bring Her Back movie synopsis
With the unfortunate demise of their father while taking a shower, 17-year-old Andy (Billy Barrett) and his partially vision impaired step sister Piper (Sora Wong) move to a local guardian, Laura who also fosters a weird mute boy named Oliver (Jonah Philips), while displaying eccentric tendencies. While coping with his grief, Andy discovers that Laura is actually not what she seems and grows suspicious because of Oliver’s strange behaviour and Laura’s constantly undermining his mental state and deeming him unfit to take care of Piper.
Twin brothers and director duo, Danny and Michael Philippou ( ‘Talk to Me’ (2022) fame) set their apparatus right in balancing the visceral horror with the heft of emotions – grief, the weight of trauma and coping with the loss of loved ones. Bring her back makes you squeamish with the graphic gore and creepy undertones but tingles your deeper nerves with a moving emotional core that centers on a tender sibling relationship, crippling under the clutches of a sinister force.
Touted as one of the best performances in the horror genre in 2025, Sally Hawkins delivers a smashing act as the complexingly layered Laura. It’s hard to associate Laura with her characters from ‘Paddington’ or ‘The Shape of Water’ – which is a testimony to her incredible range and talent. Sora Wong, who is actually vision impaired in real life (born with coloboma and microphthalmia), is achingly authentic and the talented Billy Barratt carves the beats of teenage spasms and imbalances effectively. But the real scene stealer is Jonah Wren Philips – who sends a chill down your spine with the incredibly menacing performance as Ollie ala Oliver. A lady next to me couldn’t bear many of his creepy scenes and shut her eyes.
Bring Her Back movie review – final words
Your love for BHB is actually proportional to the quantum of blood and grotesque visuals you can fathom and assimilate, and the film affirms the Philippou brothers as the modern masters of horror.
I go with 4.5 stars out of 5 for ‘Bring Her Back’. The 1 hour 4-minute film is running at theatres at you. Don’t Miss!
Ahwaan Padhee, is an IT Techie/Business Consultant by profession and a film critic/cinephile by passion, is also associated with Radio Playback as well, loves writing and conducting movie quizzes. More By Ahwaan Padhee