Time: 104 Minutes
Age Rating: R18 – Graphic violence & horror
Cast:
Billy Barratt as Andy
Sora Wong as Piper
Sally Hawkins as Laura
Jonah Wren Phillips as Oliver
Director: Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou

Talk to Me was a much talked about horror movie from a few years ago. While I thought that it was decent, I had a lot of issues with it and liked it less than other people. When I heard that its directors Danny and Michael Philippou were making another movie, I was a little skeptical going in. For what it’s worth though, I did like it a little more than Talk to Me, and I thought it was solid on the whole.

Bring Her Back, like Talk to Me, is yet another bleak horror movie about people dealing with grief and throws everything at them and puts them through the wringer to the point where it borders on trauma porn. Like Talk to Me, it’s unforgiving, especially when it comes to the kid characters, even if the film never got to the point of being scary. Those types of horror movies haven’t always worked for me, however, BHR has worked better than expected. For one, a lot of the scenes are genuinely visceral, and its unflinching violence is disturbing and hard to watch that it at least delivered on that aspect. Also, while Talk to Me’s attempt at an emotional story didn’t land or connect with me, Bring Her Back worked considerably  better for me, even if I’ve seen this kind of horror movie before and could figure out early on where the rest of the story will be going. It also helped that I was invested in the characters, the take on family trauma worked for me and I found that there was enough empathy for the subjects. There is also a real sadness and melancholy mixed in with the brutality and unsettling atmosphere. While Talk to Me was sprinkled with moments of levity throughout, Bring Her Back lacks that, leading to a more gruelling experience. However, I appreciated that, as I found Talk to Me’s tone to be rather uneven. While I didn’t care that much for its supernatural element and felt that the dynamic between the two main kids and Sally Hawkins was compelling enough, I do appreciate how quickly it establishes that aspect and doesn’t spend too much time explaining it.

Billy Barratt and Sora Wong are fantastic in the lead roles. They really sell their characters and help to get you invested in them and everything that happens to them. Jonah Wren Phillips is also really good and has a great presence when he’s on screen. However, Sally Hawkins is the standout, delivering a committed and manic performance that you would not expect from her. I do think that Bring Her Back is at least worth watching for her.

Danny and Michael Philippou’s direction for Talk to Me was impressive and their excellent work continues here. It is visually pleasing and I like what they do with the camera. There’s some incredibly gory scenes that are visceral and hard to watch and have plenty of grisly imagery. It’s also paired with top notch sound design. All the technical elements come together to form a bleak, dark and brutal atmosphere with a constant feeling of looming danger.

Bring Her Back is a bleak, unsettling and brutal horror, well directed and with amazing performances especially from Sally Hawkins.