A Home You Shouldn’t Enter
Bring Her Back is a slow-burning, nerve-splitting horror-thriller from Danny and Michael Philippou—the YouTube duo-turned-directors behind Talk to Me. Known for their visceral, grounded style of horror, the brothers return with another unsettling tale, this time focused on grief, guilt, and the dangerous lengths we’ll go to for family.
The story centers on a teen boy named Andy and his blind younger sister Piper, who are placed in the care of a warm but slightly off-putting foster mother named Laura (Sally Hawkins). As the siblings adjust to their new home, they begin to suspect that something isn’t right—strange noises, odd behaviors, and a creepy kid named Oliver lurking in the background. What begins as an awkward adjustment soon spirals into something unthinkable.
Horror That Cuts Deep
Rather than rely on cheap jump scares, Bring Her Back builds dread through human behavior, ritualistic horror, and emotional weight. The film leans into uncomfortable realism—its scariest moments aren’t always supernatural but stem from manipulation, trauma, and powerlessness. But make no mistake: once things tip into the occult, it gets dark fast.
At its core, this is a film about a broken family trying to hold itself together in the face of unseen forces—and the consequences of clinging too tightly to the past. It’s messy, unnerving, and slow in a way that feels intentional. While it may not have the high-concept hook of Talk to Me, it delivers something rarer: horror grounded in grief and character.
Characters & Performances
Andy (Billy Barratt)
Carrying guilt and trauma from a violently abusive father, Andy is a layered and protective older brother. Barratt sells the performance with grit and sensitivity, giving the film its emotional backbone.
Piper (Sora Wong)
A blind girl with agency and heart, Piper is no helpless stereotype. Wong portrays her with nuance, grounding the film in innocence and rising tension.
Laura (Sally Hawkins)
As the grieving, manipulative foster mother, Hawkins delivers one of her darkest roles to date. Unhinged, pitiable, and terrifying all at once—she’s not a villain you forget.
Oliver (Jonah Ren Phillips)
Silent, unsettling, and crawling with demonic presence, Oliver is the haunted vessel of the ritual. A standout in practical effects and creeping dread.
Tone & Feel (Spoiler-Free)
This isn’t a jump-scare factory. Bring Her Back is slow, deliberate, and emotionally anchored. It builds dread with tight framing, queasy stillness, and silence that screams louder than any orchestral sting. The horror is in the grief. The monster is desperation.
Worth Seeing?
Absolutely—if you can handle discomfort. It’s less about shock and more about spiraling into a waking nightmare. It demands patience, but rewards it with tension, powerful performances, and moral horror. It won’t be for everyone. But if Hereditary or Talk to Me worked for you, this one belongs on your list.
Spoilers Alert Below! – Ritual Revealed
The Setup
The foster home is a trap. Laura has been secretly studying a satanic resurrection ritual involving three pieces: a corpse, a possessed conduit, and a “replacement” death. Her own daughter’s frozen body is kept in a shed. The children are key components.
The Spiral
Laura drugs Andy, isolates him, and turns Piper against him. Oliver—already traumatized—becomes a vessel for the demonic entity. Laura feeds it parts of her daughter’s body via Oliver. The transfer must be completed by drowning Piper.
The Twist
Andy tries to intervene, but dies. Piper nearly becomes the final sacrifice, until her desperate cry—”Mom!”—shakes Laura into clarity. She hesitates. It’s enough.
The entity retreats. Piper escapes. Laura drowns in the pool beside her daughter’s corpse. The demon, foiled, exits Oliver. Andy’s sacrifice is the cost of stopping the ritual.
Ending & Credits
The final image: Piper hears an airplane overhead—a callback to Andy’s earlier metaphor for souls going to heaven. No cheap sequel bait. Just finality, sadness, and catharsis.
The Good
- Excellent Performances: Especially from Barratt, Wong, and Hawkins
- Practical Effects: Subtle and disturbing, never overdone
- Emotional Weight: Horror rooted in trauma and grief, not tropes
- Sound Design: Claustrophobic, minimalistic, and jarring
The Bad
- Slow Burn Start: First act may lose impatient viewers
- Occult Elements Underexplored: Some concepts could’ve used more clarity
- Abrupt Tone Shift: Laura’s final moments border on tragic empathy that could jar some viewers
Bring Her Back: Bring Her Back is an artful descent into grief-driven madness. It doesn’t pull punches. It doesn’t give easy answers. And it doesn’t flinch. The Philippou brothers continue to prove they’re horror's next heavyweights. – Asmodeus
What’s Next?
No sequel teased, but fans of Talk to Me and Bring Her Back are already speculating if the Philippous are crafting a thematic trilogy. If so, we’re in. Bring it on.
