Title – Bring Her Back (2025)

Directors – Danny & Michael Philippou (Talk to Me)

Cast – Sally Hawkins, Billy Barratt, Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Phillips

Plot – When their father passes away, teenage siblings Andy (Barratt) and Piper (Wong) end up in the foster care home of Laura (Hawkins), a mother still recovering from her own grief of losing her only child years prior.  

“What is that?”

Review by Eddie on 06/06/2025

If anyone thought twin Australian filmmakers Danny & Michael Philippou (aka RackaRacka to the long term fans) were going to rest easy after the surprise worldwide success of their first feature film, 2023’s Talk to Me, then they better think again.

Ramping up all forms of disturbance, violence and unease that made their debut stand out from a crowded marketplace, the Philippou’s sophomore effort Bring Her Back is far from a stereotypical horror outing as the brothers move away from what you’d even call a “scary” genre effort to instead focus their attention into their crafting of a sad, depressing and an disquieting feature that follows the unfortunate happenings of recently orphaned brother and sister duo Andy and Piper who are taken in by Sally Hawkins foster mother Laura.

Filled with some of the most genuinely disturbing, confronting and unashamedly bleak content you’re likely to get from a large-scale release, Bring Her Back holds little back when it comes to the nitty gritty of this semi-familiar but also strikingly unique look at grief, love, family and kitchen tools as the Philippou brothers let all their depraved visions play out around a bunch of characters that are hard to always invest in and a story with some questionable plot holes, creating a flawed experience that is still nevertheless highly impressive in multiple facets.

Best watched with minimal prior knowledge (avoiding the films spoilerish trailers is a great starting point), Bring Her Back is likely going to be to slowly paced and uneventful in the most part for casual moviegoers expecting more of a Conjuring/Insidious type horror film but for those willing to take the slower moments with the hectic (a loaded final act is a sight to behold), the Philippou’s newest outing into the deranged and demented is surely going to be a cult favourite in the years to come.

Brilliantly captured by cinematographer Aaron McLisky, masterfully designed sound wise and filled with admirable performances from Billy Barratt and Sora Wong as sibling duo Andy and Piper and the ever reliable Sally Hawkins are Laura, a character of the likes which we’ve never seen her play before, Bring Her Back is filled with worthy notable elements that includes the birth of a potential iconic horror figure in the form of Jonah Wren Phillips as the unfortunate Oliver.

Hard to talk about without going into fully fledged spoiler territory, Phillips is scarily good here, his Oliver is responsible for many of the films most captivating and intense moments and seeing a young performer bite into a role in this way is quite the site.

Based off his efforts here it feels as though both Oliver the character and Phillips the performer are destined for big things in their own unique ways, proving once more that the Philippou brothers have a unique way with words, character creation and world building in their grotesque version of the horror landscape.

Final Say –

Not as effective all round as their stunning debut, Bring Her Back is still a classy and confronting horror experience from some of Australia’s most promising creative visionaries with some notable acting turns and moments of sheer madness likely to ensure Bring Her Back’s place in many movie fans memorable moments from the 2025 release calendar.

3 1/2 scrumptious countertops out of 5