‘Bring Her Back’ Blu-ray (review)

A24

Nearly three years on from their smash hit feature debut Talk to Me, the Philippou twins return with another original horror film with the harrowing Bring Her Back, where orphaned siblings Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) are placed in the care of foster mom Laura (Sally Hawkins).

Upon arrival, Andy immediately senses that something seems terribly off, but the extent of Laura’s cruelty and what motivates her is more harrowing than he could possibly imagine, and it quickly becomes clear that the siblings are in grave danger.

What follows is a tense, stomach-churning thriller, where gruesome body horror is encased in psychological terror inflicted by a nurturing figure turning out to be deceitful and exceedingly willing to resort to cruelty against those she is supposed to protect.

They players all fit their individual parts well, and casting Hawkins – AKA Paddington’s mom – as the villain of the piece is as inspired as it is diabolical, as Hawkins gets to show a side of her thespian range seldom seen among her curriculum of overwhelmingly pleasant characters.

Far removed from the warmth usually associated with her performances, Hawkins’ Laura immediately becomes a character you not only love to hate, but the character’s menace and volatility also ensures that an unnerving threat level is sustained throughout the film, as her unpredictability only makes her feel that much more dangerous.

The visuals are purposefully dark, drab and damp, the constant rain enveloping the film in an oppressive and dour atmosphere that not only emphasizes the film’s tone, but also adds to the sense of isolation that Andy in particular feels, underlining the hopelessness of the situation the two siblings find themselves in.

Much like Talk to Me, the body horror is gruesome and appears at sporadic intervals with little warning, resulting in it easily matching the relentlessness set forth by the film-making twins’ first film, albeit the timing and shock value was somewhat better in their debut.

In Bring Her Back, the gore is meaner and more drawn out, which at times has a startling effect, while at other times leaving the viewer feeling hollow and depressed, something that only increases in intensity as the film goes on, making the film a difficult candidate in terms of rewatchability.

Perhaps a little too dark for its own good, the film is nihilistic to a fault, examining grief and the cruelty unprocessed trauma can drive people to inflict on those around them through a supernatural lens that exacerbates the themes to almost an unbearable extent.

Competent, cruel and soul-crushing, Bring Her Back showcases that the Philippou Brothers clearly have a great grasp of horror film-making with a distinct voice of their own, however, the film does not possess the same rewatchability as its predecessor, and while it is admirable that the film-makers are bold enough to deliver an unflinching sophomore effort, they will hopefully branch out beyond unaddressed trauma as horror in future efforts to prove they are not a one-trick pony.

Extras include commentary, making of deleted scene, and Q-Code enabled Russian video.

Verdict: 7 out of 10.