Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Two orphaned siblings move into a foster home with a woman who recently lost her daughter, unaware that she is trying to bring her back from the underworld… through terrifying rituals that involves them.
Directors Danny Philippou, and Michael Philippou, who were also behind the Australian horror hit ‘Talk to Me’, deliver yet another disturbing supernatural film with ‘Bring Her Back’. The best part? The two films are a world apart from each other in terms of themes, even though both of them feature children, violence, and supernatural terrors.
Seventeen-year-old Andy (Billy Barratt) discovers his father dead in the shower, while his younger sister Piper, who has limited vision, is also at home. At the siblings’ insistence, they are placed in the same foster home under the care of Laura (Sally Hawkins), their new foster mother. Right off the bat, something seems off about Laura and her home, including her son Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips), who refuses to speak and behaves strangely.
“Bring Her Back” opens with violent, deeply unsettling footage of strangers participating in a grisly ritual. The sequence works as a chilling cold open, and later in the film, Laura is seen studying the same disturbing video as a reference point. It quickly becomes clear that Laura is obsessed with resurrecting her dead daughter, and that Piper plays a crucial role in her plans. Unwittingly, the siblings find themselves ensnared in her manipulative and sinister scheme.
While Laura showers Piper with affection to gain her trust, she treats Andy with barely concealed hostility. She carefully engineers situations designed to paint him as volatile and unreliable, undermining his chances of gaining guardianship of Piper when he turns eighteen. So, “Bring Her Back” chillingly illustrates how easily adults can distort a child’s reality, weaponizing authority and trust against those who depend on them for safety.
Sally Hawkins is detestably effective as Laura, portraying a woman so consumed by grief that she has lost all moral grounding. Jonah Wren Phillips speaks very little as Laura’s son Oliver, yet his presence is deeply unsettling, with several violent moments that raise disturbing questions about his true relationship with Laura and the extent of her influence over him.
Amid the mostly dark and depressing themes and events, the protective sibling relationship between Andy and Piper is the only bright speck. The way Laura is able to drive a wedge between the brother and sister was slightly unrealistic, although there are a few little things that comes to light, breaking little Piper’s trust in her elder brother, even though he always tries to keep her best interests in mind.
Except for a few twists that don’t make sense towards the end, ‘Bring Her Back’ is a gritty horror film, with ample body horror and unsettling moments to keep viewers invested in the tale.
Rating: 8 on 10. Watch ‘Bring Her Back’ on Netflix or rent it on Prime Video.
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