It feels like horror is more accessible than ever. As the genre becomes more mainstream, there are more horror offerings throughout the year being distributed by the major studios and shown in the big theater chains. However, sometimes it can feel like the increase in quantity has led to a vast fluctuation, if not straight decrease in quality as theaters are flooded with James Wan’s predictable annual jump scare flicks, reboots of iconic franchises that tend to rely too heavily on their legacies than actually telling a good story and novelties that draw audiences in with an interesting premise or silly gimmick but don’t always stick the landing.
In the face of all this, there is one decent bastion of terror left: independent film. Following the acclaim of their directorial debut, Talk To Me, twin Australian directors Danny and Michael Philippou are delving into the realm of spiritual horror once again with their new film, Bring Her Back.
Following the death of their father, half-siblings Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) are sent to live with foster mother Laura (Sally Hawkins). Laura herself is still dealing with the loss of her daughter, Cathy (Mischa Haywood), who was blind like Piper. She also has one other foster child named Ollie (Jonah Wren Phillips), who is selectively mute and has trouble connecting with or interacting with others. Laura seems nice enough, though slowly the red flags start to show, and her behavior reveals her sinister motive: she plans to enact a ritual to resurrect her daughter using Piper as a conduit and host for Cathy’s spirit.
Talk To Me established the Philippou twins as an exciting new duo that showed promise, but Bring Her Back solidifies them as auteurs and true masters of horror. The best horror films are those that make the audience feel like they’re watching something they shouldn’t be, as if they’ve gained access to some cursed or forbidden footage. Bring Her Back handily achieves that, revelling in its discomfort and building up the pervading sense of unease, holding onto that tension even in its quieter, tamer moments.
The story is brisk, and at an hour and 39 minutes, it wastes no time, yet still manages to build, develop, and explore its twisted, evil world. I appreciate when a film takes the time to delve deep and explain its mythology and lore; however, Bring Her Back doesn’t touch upon anything but the most basic details about the film’s ritual and witchcraft. Andy and Piper have no idea what’s going on with their foster mother. By providing only the most basic and necessary details, the film can maintain its pace and also compel the audience to share the kids’ perspective, which is kept mainly in the dark and only understood by the vaguest of details that something very wrong is happening around them.
Adding to the overall horror effect are the practical effects and makeup. Technology has advanced to enable incredible and imaginative visual imagery. However, there’s still something so visceral and raw about using practical effects that enhances the immersion and believability of a scene. The Philippous, along with their makeup and special effects teams, made my skin crawl and had me turning away in revulsion in the best possible way.
But it’s not all about the grim and gristly parts. At its core, Bring Her Back is about grief, love, and trauma. Each of the characters is struggling with their demons, sometimes figurative and sometimes literal. The Phillipou brothers take an unflinching look at some of the most beautiful and relatable aspects of the human condition and push them to a darkly perverse limit. It’s a refreshingly thoughtful aspect of the film in a genre that is often solely focused on the biggest scare or exploiting the misery of its main characters.
The skillful writing and filmcraft are matched by the equally strong performances of the entire cast. Sally Hawkins carries a lot of the film. I am accustomed to seeing her in charming, sweet roles, such as in The Shape of Water or Paddington films, and in a way, she’s charmingly depraved in Bring Her Back. Hawkins effortlessly swaps between the facade of a kindly, understanding woman to a cold, calculated monster. The entire performance is painted with palpable grief, and even when she’s at her most wicked, the desperation and love for her daughter that Hawkins brings to Laura keep a little spark of empathy towards her.
Though Hawkins sets the bar high for performances, Billy Barratt, Sora Wong and Jonah Wren Phillips rise to the occasion, each serving their purpose in the film marvelously. As the primary perspective character, Barratt’s Andy is our window to the world and behaves as one would expect a grieving teenager to. His love towards his sister is strong, but also tinged with the complexity of resentment. His trauma regarding his father is tragic, visceral and haunting. Much of the film’s tension relies on how Andy reacts to Laura’s gaslighting, and Barratt’s reactions feel authentic and natural.
Sora Wong’s performance as Piper is especially impressive, considering that this is her first significant role. She balances being a snarky youth with an innocent child, the target of sacrifice, but also a fighter and survivor. While her blindness has relevance to the story, it’s never a weakness, and Sora never portrays Piper as a victim, but rather as a resilient, if somewhat naive, character. She’s easily lovable, and it’s easy to see why Laura would become so fixated on her.
Jonah Wren Phillips is truly a driving force in the movie. So much of the horror is pinned on Oliver’s eerie silence and disturbing behaviour. While the makeup artists do a fantastic job making him look physically creepy, Phillips’s acting props up a lot of the film. There’s a primal quality to Philip’s performance, a rawness and commitment to every piercing scream and violent outburst that’s fascinating to behold. Oliver certainly ranks among the scariest children in all of cinema.
Danny and Michael Philippou’s sophomore project is proof that the horror genre is far from dead. It doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares, memes or gimmicks. And while I didn’t feel terrified watching Bring Her Back, I often squirmed in my seat or covered my face in pure horror, my body seeking an escape while my eyes and mind were unable to detach from the madness on the screen. It’s a movie that, at times, seems to follow popular tropes but then, at the last second, turns in an unpredictable direction for pure shock and awe. From the writing to the special effects to the acting, Bring Her Back is a modern classic.
I’m absolutely dying to see what the Philippou brothers cook up next.
Rating: 8.5/10